Sometimes You Can't Make It On Your Own
by CelticWolfman
Summary: Set in Season 3 A New Senior staffer joins the JAG team, he fast finds himself fitting in around the office and helping Harm and Mac find their way to one another. [Ch.36 Now Up!]Updated July 31st
1. Leave No Man Behind

He was a Marine; at one time he was a Recon Marine, the best of the best. Now he was a JAG Marine, he would forever be Recon but with his designator as a JAG that's where he was going to be for a while. He'd been a JAG for a long time, since he was a Captain to be exact. He stood in front of Admiral Chegwidden. Despite the fact that the rivalries between the SEALs and Recon Marines were almost as old as the Corps and the Navy themselves, these two men had a mutual respect.

"Well Colonel, you're fit-reps are top notch, your win-loss record as an attorney is incredibly lopsided in the victory column and you have four full rows of medals on your chest. You'll be a welcomed addition here for the next month before the SECNAV gives you your O-6 and sends you off to the NATO Staff JAG office." Chegwidden reached across the table and shook the man's hand.

"Thank you Admiral, one thing sir. I have a six-year old son and I just would like to know if you know of any organization or babysitters I might be able to utilize while I'm at work." The stoic Marine façade didn't fit him, being the newly single father of a six year-old tended to create that emotional softness that was often completely absent from a Marine.

"I'll have Petty Officer Tiner find something for you Colonel, welcome to JAG. Dismissed." With that the Marine Lieutenant Colonel turned on heel and walked out of the office and the Admiral fell back into his chair. Lieutenant Colonel James Grant was forty-one and a widower. His wife Nikki had died in a car accident about a year ago and while he had taken it hard, no one had taken it harder than his six-year old son David Patrick Grant. Colonel Grant was happy to be in Virginia for awhile, he'd been in the pacific for so long it was hard to remember what the East Coast looked like.

The last year had been a long one, it all started before Nikki's death really, when his daughter Gabby went off to Annapolis. Gabby was going to be a good Marine, like her dad but it wasn't her dad that was her role model. When Nikki died his world had come down around him, but his mentor had been there, it had been rough but he could always count on Matt even when it was tough. Then Matt had gone to jail and that had been it, the year couldn't have been more of an emotional Maelstrom. He had to be strong; his son needed him to be.

David was in his dad's new temporary office right now, he wore a Marine Corps uniform that was made just for him by his mom. Over his left chest were mock-ups of all the ribbons his dad had won in his twenty-three years in the Corps. David had come in early with his dad and was told to sit in his dad's office and play with his Game Boy, which is exactly what he did. He even responded "Yes, Colonel Daddy."

David looked out the door to see his dad coming toward him. His dad was a tall man, about six-foot-three with an iron jaw and broad shoulders. His dad's hair had once been a very light brown, to the point where there was even a little red in it. Now, there was a lot of grey around the ears and at the base of his neck. The once vibrant hazel eyes were dull, like a faded meadow.

Colonel Grant walked through the outer office and past Petty Officer Tiner. From what he'd heard, two JAG officers had just gotten back from an op in Columbia that had something to do with the CIA and a big time drug lord. Office scuttlebutt was often wrong though, never could trust it for anything more than a cookie recipe. When he made it out into the bullpen he saw a familiar face, his face grew into a wide smile that was a relic of a happier time in his life.

"Mac!" He rushed over to her; it had been too long since he'd seen her, Okinawa at least. When Mac heard her nickname and looked toward where it had been called and saw the jogging figure in Marine Class As. She remembered that face a little younger than it now looked but there was no doubt in her mind as to who it was.

"Jim!" As he stood in front of her, she wrapped him in a hug. Mac realized that she was standing next to Harm. "Oh sorry, Harm, this is Lieutenant Colonel Jim Grant. Back in Yuma he was my uncle's protégé, my uncle was the first to call him 'Big Jim' but that seems like years ago." Harm looked sort of smug with a half-smile on his face.

"It has been too long Mac, the last time we saw each other must have been Okinawa. We've got to sit down and catch up. There's a lot to talk about." He had a familial kind of smile on his face.

"It has. Is Gabby around, she used to follow me around like a little sister." Mac searched around the office for what would look like an twenty year-old version of a girl she'd once known.

"No, Gabby didn't come with me. She's off with her Academy friends for the summer. But there is someone here you haven't seen since he was a baby." Jim turned toward his new office and whistled than bellowed "Cadet Grant!" The six-year old wearing Marine green came running at his father's call and out into the bullpen. "Mac, you remember little David?" The Marine Colonel reached down and scooped up his son in his right arm.

"This is little David? He's turning into quite a handsome little jarhead." Mac flicked the young man's nose. Her comment had turned his cheeks a very cherry red with embarrassment.

"Daddy, she's pretty." The young man tucked his embarrassed face into his father's shoulder as he said the words.

"He'll get no argument from me." Harm seemed to blurt out the words before he could contain himself.

"I don't think anyone's going to refute the comment, not if they've seen what Mac can do to them in hand-to-hand combat." Jim and Harm laughed while Mac tried to look offended.

"Just what's that supposed to mean Colonel?" Mac's face was attempting to contain a smile.

"Mac, thanks to some of the moves you taught Gabby she was almost more of a threat to her prospective boyfriends in high school than a Recon Marine Colonel. That takes some doing." Jim's story was funny enough to get a laugh out of everyone.

"How about lunch Colonel, I'd love to hear about the kind of hell-raiser Mac was back in the old days." Harm interjected, he hoped that Mac had forgotten his comment about Mac's looks earlier in the conversation. His hopes were futile.

"Sounds good, how about you Mac? Between you, me and the little Cadet here, we should have the Navy man pretty well outnumbered." Jim lowered his son to the ground.

"Sounds like fun. It'll be kind of nice to see Harm squirm surrounded by Marines." Mac nudged her partner playfully in the ribs. With that, Jim took his son back to the office and Harm followed Mac into her office.

"So you and Colonel Grant?" Harm said largely suggestively but with the smallest trace of jealousy.

"It wasn't like that. When I was living with Uncle Matt, Jim was his protégé. Jim and his wife Nikki were like siblings to me during that time. Jim and Nikki are actually a remarkable story, in love since they were twelve, married at eighteen and when I last saw them a little under six years ago they were still married." Mac was leaning on her desk looking up at Harm who was standing opposite her.

"It's a fairytale story but for some people love just isn't that easy." Harm's voice softened as that last comment escaped his lips.

"I don't buy that, for some people love is right in front of them, they just have to want it bad enough to reach for it." Mac's eyes returned to the paperwork on her desk. This was just the first in a list of little semi-hints that had been going on recently. First her questions about 'Sarah' during their little hooky session in the Appalachians. Then the NATO ball and finally the whole conversation of dress whites in Harm's room at the American Embassy in Columbia.

"So I really have to go to lunch with three jarheads?" Harm smiled at her, her attention was once again lifted from her work.

"Two jarheads and one future one. Though if David's anything like his father, it won't be too long now." Mac's comment was vague, she'd never really gotten to know David but she had an attachment to the entire Grant family so her concern just naturally extended to the young son.

"What's that mean?" Harm was curious, the last time a senior officer had been sprung on him was Allison Krennick and he was hoping for less stress this time around.

"When he was thirteen, he tried to enlist for the first time using a false identification. He made it through boot before he was age was discovered. He tried again at sixteen; his lawyer tied up the discharge until after his seventeenth birthday. When parental consent was obtained he was allowed to join. The Corps thought he was a loose cannon and figured my uncle Matt would be tough enough on him to break his spirit." Mac got up from behind the desk and walked over to the window.

"My Uncle was hard on him, determined to break him down and build him up into the ideal Marine. But Jim was ready for everything my Uncle threw at him. According to what Matt used to tell me, there were times when Jim used to say 'that all you got?' My Uncle said that Jim had the best base for a Recon Marine that he'd ever seen." _Until he met you_, Mac added silently in her head. "So after my uncle trained him and served alongside him, he recommended Jim for OCS. When I met him the first time, he was 1st Lieutenant James Grant."

"Sounds like a hell of a guy." Harm walked up next to her.

"Loyal as a German Shepherd, lethal as one too. Uncle Matt used to treat him like a son, Jim used to say that made him my big brother, which meant, in his mind, that it was his duty to look out for me. He always did, whether I thought I needed him or not." Tears began to well up in Mac's eyes.

"You glad he's here?" Harm was hesitant about how exactly to comfort her. He pulled a Kleenex off the bookcase and lightly stroked under her eyes drying the tears.

"Thank you." She looked up at him. "Yes I'm glad he's here. I just know that there's something that's made him age like he has. I mean I think I know what it is. Jim once told me that there wasn't a force in the world capable of separating him and Nikki and now he's not wearing his wedding ring." She sobbed; it could only mean one thing in her mind. The woman who was as much a sister as she had ever known was gone.

"I'm sorry, Mac." He was hesitant again, he offered a hug and she accepted and gradually she fell into his arms sobbing into his shoulder. "It's okay Mac." He gently swayed back and forth trying to comfort her.

"No Harm, no it's not! She was one of the few people in my life who've ever given a damn, now she's gone! I never…I never got to say goodbye." Unwittingly her right hand pounded his chest as she tried to contain her tears. He grimaced every time she struck him but he just accepted it.

"You gonna be okay?" He looked into her eyes as she pulled away.

"Yeah I think so, I just can't help but think how alone he must have felt. I mean Gabby at the Academy, then Uncle Matt went to prison and I mean David's too young to understand. I just wish I could have been there for him." She composed herself and dropped back into her chair.

"No matter how many times the we say 'leave no man behind' sometimes there's just nothing we can do." Harm sat down across from her.

"Not him! He's never done anything to have deserved being isolated like that and yet that's exactly what happened. You asked me if I was glad he was here, I'm very glad he's here, I finally have a chance to make up for failing him as a friend." She was self-criticizing, while she was sure that there was something she could do.

"Mac you didn't fail, you didn't know that anything was happening, you can't be of help when you don't know there's a problem." He was trying to be sympathetic.

"That all sounds very nice Harm, but there's a six-year old out there who just lost his mother and who has a father who's probably given himself an ulcer over the course of the last year or so. So my ignorance of what's happening really isn't of much comfort to them and if it isn't going to comfort them, it sure as hell isn't going to comfort me!" Mac lashed out at him, he didn't seem to understand.

"Mac, I wasn't trying to berate you or tell you how to feel I just figured that you didn't need to beat yourself up over something you couldn't control." Harm babbled as he dropped back into his chair.

"Maybe you're right, I don't know I guess I just can't understand why this had to happen to him, all he's even done is help every one else and in the course of the last while he's lost a lot of what he could depend on." Mac's hand extended across the table and he fingers intermeshed with Harm's. "Thanks, Harm."

Across the bullpen, in his office, Colonel Grant had been a witness to the whole scene. He had no idea what they were talking about, it didn't matter, he was simply happy that there was someone who could take care of Mac here at JAG. Mac didn't need anyone to take care of her and he knew that, but somehow he always felt better, just like the protective older brother he'd always been. Harm left Mac's office and made a bee-line for that of his new senior officer. Harm tapped on the open door.

"Come on in Commander, I suppose you want to talk about the Hillier Article 32?" The Marine had made himself right at home. In front of the chair next to the door, David had leapt out of his seat and stood at attention when Harm entered the room. Harm looked down at the young man with a slight chuckle.

"At ease Marine." Harm mussed the young man's hair playfully. David stood at ease than returned to his Game Boy.

"David why don't you go to Auntie Mac's office while I talk to Commander Rabb." The Marine Colonel looked very pleased at his son who snapped to attention before leaving the office.

"How do you get him to do that?" Harm looked inquisitive and confused up at Jim.

"I don't get him to do any of it. He does it all on his own, he just asks me if he's doing it right and I correct him. He asked for that uniform of his for Christmas a while ago, his mother made a bunch of them for him. After he met the Kommandant of the Corps a few years ago that's all he's wanted to be." Jim laughed as he ran his pen across the page.

"He does that all on his own? I shouldn't be surprised I suppose, if I spent the amount of time with Colonel O'Hara that he has I'd probably be doing the same thing." Harm said as he sat in the chair.

"I know you defended Matt when he was up for stealing the Declaration. That took a lot of balls Commander. I think you and I will get along fine, even if you are a Squid. Now as for the Hillier case. I think it's pretty cut and dried Commander, fraternization's not difficult to prove, so if we can agree to just subject him to an Admiral's mast without chance of discharge I think we can save the Navy a lot of time and money prosecuting." Jim didn't even flinch, he just ran through paperwork.

"Why should I bare his throat to an Admiral's mast? All I have to do is prove that there was no alleged misconduct and your case is shot Colonel." Harm smiled as he tapped his pen on the desk.

"Yeah but with the amount of witnesses I can call I can bury your head so deep in the sand you'll be the envy of every scared Ostrich in the continental U.S." Jim leaned back in his chair and tossed a maniacal smile Harm's way.

"I guess I'll see you before Morris tomorrow morning?" Harm got up from the chair. He saw an embroidered piece of material framed on the wall with a few lines of writing on it.

_You don't tug on Superman's cape  
You don't spit into the wind_

_You don't pull the mask off that Ol' Lone Ranger_

_And you don't mess around with Jim _

_Jim Croce_

"This is pretty good, who made it?" Harm looked up from the frame.

"Actually Mac and my wife made it for me one night after a rather interesting event." Jim smiled sort of like he had just heard a great song from his childhood.

"That sounds like one hell of a story. Maybe it'll come up at lunch." Harm smiled and turned out of Jim's office. "You going to call that young Cadet of yours back into your office."

"Yeah right, you couldn't tear him away from Mac if you tried, he's got a quite a little crush on her." Jim got up from his chair and pulled a framed picture of his family off the bookshelf.

"The boy's got taste." Harm once again found himself unable to control an opinion.

"You got something on your mind Commander, that's the second time you've made a comment about Mac, this morning?" The inquisitive wise smile on the Colonel's face didn't need to be seen, it was so evident it could be heard.

"You implying something, Colonel?" Harm shot back.

"You play an instrument Harm?" Jim hoped that the use of the Commander's first name would help him familiarize.

"Guitar, why?" Harm liked confused.

"You seem intent to have a conversation with me about Mac and music is a great way to familiarize. You want to jam tonight?" Jim asked honestly.

"Sure."

"I'll bring my guitar. See you around seven?"

"Sure, my place, you can get the directions from Mac I suppose. You're not going to go all Force Recon on me are you?" Harm joked.

"No, I'd like to hear about some of your adventures with Mac. I've heard about terrorists seizing hospitals and even a rendezvous with Captain Koonan." Jim laughed as Harm left the office. Lunch came around faster than anyone in the office had expected, Harm had even managed to slip out early and procure lunch for five, thinking that Bud would likely want to join them as well. When he came back to the office he saw three Marines uniforms in Mac's office and Bud on his way over.

"Sir, I haven't had the chance to talk with Colonel Grant yet do you think Major MacKenzie would mind, I mean if I walked in there and introduced myself. I wouldn't want to be rude or anything." Bud was fumbling as he got out the last few words.

"Bud, I have something better. Why don't you come in and have lunch with us? You can even meet his son David." Harm put his hand on his friends back guided him toward the office. The two men walked toward the office of their colleague where they saw an overjoyed six-year old sitting in a Marine Class A on Mac's lap. When Harm and Bud entered the room, the young man sprung off Mac's lap and came to attention right there on the spot causing the adults to laugh. He even made a small salute which was returned in kind by Harm and Bud who was smiling rather happily.

"I'm not used to people saluting me first around here sir." Bud said as he put the young man at ease. David climbed back into Mac's lap causing a chuckle from his father and Harm.

"Bud, this is Colonel Grant and his son David who seems doomed to joining the dark side." Harm motioned toward the Marine with silver oak leaves. Bud stretched his hand out to his new senior officer.

"Colonel it's a pleasure to meet you…" Bud started to talk but he was cut off.

"Bud, if we're going to work together, please just call me 'Jim'. Colonel is such a mouthful." Jim reached out a shook Bud's hand, his grip causing Bud to wince a little.

"Daddy, what did Commander Rabb mean when he said I was going to join the dark side?" David walked over to his father.

"He was talking about the Marines son; do you remember what I told you to say when a Navy man talks about the Corps like that?" Jim was encouraging his son. David went over and stood in front of Harm.

"Silly Squid, Navy's for kids!" The youngster proceeded to stick his tongue out at the six-foot-four Navy Commander. The action was enough to cause a rather raucous round of laughter. "Did I do good Auntie Mac?" David looked up at her hoping that he had caused the smile on her face.

"You did great David!" She smiled at him, laughing a little as she saw the smile grow on his face.

Harm tossed Mac a Beltway Burger bag and then tossed one to Bud. "I didn't know what our two new arrivals would like but I chanced that jarheads would be dead animal lovers so I got David a Kid's Meal and I got the Colonel the biggest burger they had."

"Smart man Commander." Jim took the bag from him and put the hamburger on the desk in front of him. "Bud, if you want to join us that'd be great you know what they say, the more the merrier." Bud took a seat between Harm and Jim.

"Thank you sir, I hadn't intended on…I mean if there was anything I wasn't supposed to hear…or if the Commander wanted me researching…" Bud was stammering again.

"Lieutenant slow down, or you'll push the warranty on your tongue." Jim took a bite out of his burger. Bud looked confused but sat in the chair silently.

"So anyway." Mac's demeanour seemed to drain of any levity and filled with a degree of seriousness. "When did it happen?"

"Just before that whole fiasco with Matt, I was on my way to Yuma when you guys were investigating. I couldn't bear to be in San Diego any more, too many memories you know." Colonel Grant's focus seemed to be inside himself.

"Excuse me Jim, I don't mean to be rude or imposing, but what happened just before the incident with Colonel O'Hara?" Harm leaned into the conversation.

"Mommy got called to be with God." David was trying to fight tears as he threw himself into his dad's arms. Harm seemed to look as if he's literally just swallowed his foot. He was about to talk when Jim interrupted him.

"It's okay Harm, you never could have known." Jim was the perfect older brother type, he never flew off the handle and he always seemed to make every one feel perfectly at ease.

"I'm sorry Jim." The apologetic sentiment came from both Harm and Mac.

"I'm really sorry sir." Bud voice trailed that of his two mentors.

"It's okay really; it's just been a tough year, that's all." He mussed his son's hair while the young man chomped down on some fries. "You might swallow your hand there Champ." Jim looked down at his son who beamed a smile back up at his father.

"I don't know how you guys can eat that stuff. It's nothing but starch, grease, dead animal and…" Harm was cut off.

"Ketchup, we know mom but it tastes great." Mac was mocking him.

"Are you serious, what kind of man doesn't eat red meat?" Jim had an amused smile on his face as he looked over his shoulder up at Harm.

"So how long have you been in the DC area?" Harm dug into his salad.

"We got in Saturday evening; we're in the process of turning a room at the Holiday Inn into our home for the next month." Jim raised his burger to his lips.

"You can't stay at a Holiday Inn! Not with your son. You're staying with me!" Mac's authoritative voice made everyone in the room weary of arguing.

"I think the UCMJ would have serious issues with that Major." The voice was that of the two-star Admiral that stood in the doorway to Mac's office.

"With all due respect sir, a hotel room is not the greatest environment for a child. A more home-type of environment would be more beneficial. Since neither Commander Rabb or Lieutenant Roberts has the quarters available to sustain three people, it seemed logical for me to suggest this solution." Mac took on a very respectful but serious tone with her Commanding Officer.

"Your concern for the child's welfare is admirable Major but there is still the issue with the UCMJ, I don't think we can forego regulations on this one." The Admiral understood Mac's position and clearly wished that there was something he could do.

"Mac, the Admiral's right but I think there's a solution. David can stay with you and I'll be there every morning to make breakfast for him and you since you're willing to take him in, than take him to the babysitter. After work, I'll be there until he falls asleep than I'll go back to the hotel. If it's not too much of an intrusion, it should accomplish the same end and evade the issue with the UCMJ." Jim seemed rather calm as he suggested his solution.

"Works for me, Admiral any problems sir?" Mac had a smile on her face as she looked up at the Admiral.

"None I can see, carry on people." The Admiral turned and walked back to his office.

"You're actually willing to make breakfast for Mac for the next month, with her appetite?" Harm smiled as he looked over at Jim.

"You know Marines, no task too difficult, though this is one for the books. What about you buddy, you want to live with Auntie Mac for the next little while?" Jim looked down at his son who was playing with the toy that came with his meal.

"Yeah, Auntie Mac's really nice and really pretty. You'll still be there though, right Daddy?" David's face seemed kind of hopeful.

"You bet, Cadet. They couldn't keep me away." Jim reached down and straightened the tie in his son's uniform. "Thanks a lot Mac, I don't know what I could've down for the next month with just a hotel room and no help for this little guy."

"It's no trouble Jim, really. Besides, I could get used to one Marine cooking for me everyday and a soon-to-be Marine calling me 'pretty' all the time." Mac smiled and Harm laughed as the six-year old retreated under his father's chair.

"I have to go over the Hillier case at Harm's tonight Mac, so I won't be able to bring David back to your apartment. Once I'm done at Harm's I'll swing by the hotel and pick up his stuff and bring it over. Just to make up for springing this on you, I'll make dinner, but I can't promise it'll be any good, breakfast is really the only meal Nikki thought I could cook without creating a biohazard." Jim lifted his son into his lap.

The rest of the day passed rather uneventfully, a rare event at JAG. At 1700, everyone secured, Mac took David back to her apartment, Harm went back to his apartment and Jim went back to the hotel to pick up his son's bare necessities and his guitar. Than he headed over to Harm's place. The building still wasn't the most aesthetically pleasing but as the elevator doors opened he could hear the sound of an acoustic guitar. After knocking on the door he heard 'it's open.'

"Hey, looks like I found the place alright." Jim looked around the apartment and saw Harm sitting with his guitar on his knee, on the couch.

"I'd say so, beer?" Harm got up from the couch.

"Thanks." Jim unzipped his gig bag and pulled out his guitar than took a seat on the floor. Harm walked over to the fridge and pulled out two beers, tossing one to his guest.

"Got any songs in mind to start out with?" Harm walked back toward the couch.

"_Running on Empty?_ Always been a good acoustic song." Jim popped the cap off the bottle and took a drink.

"Jackson Browne, sounds good to me." Harm picked up his guitar and started strumming the intro to the song. The two men traded off verses and got through as much of the song as they could remember before the conversation started. "So did you and Mac ever…?" Harm's curiosity had gotten the better of him.

"Never, I was madly in love with my wife when she was alive and she'll forever be a part of me now that she's gone." Jim replied solemnly.

"Were you ever tempted?" Harm's cross-examination talents were coming through.

"Tempted is a different story." Jim's focus seemed to drain from the conversation and back into his guitar.

"So you were tempted." Harm took a drink of his beer.

"Once. Mac was having trouble with a guy and Matt, rightly thinking she was in trouble, sent me to bring her home. I saved her from a pretty sticky situation and beat the absolute crap out of the gentleman in question. She was pretty scraped up so I carried her back to the car and she kissed me. It was nothing big, it was more out of gratitude than anything I think." Jim seemed to be trying to convince himself.

"I'm guessing it was after that when Mac and your wife made that thing hanging in your office?" Harm smiled, it was a cute little decoration and incredibly apt for a Recon Marine.

"Yeah well, most of the members of my family thought that was pretty funny even Matt O'Hara, whose the only person who has ever actually messed with me." Jim laughed as the raised the bottle to his lips. "Well you've found out what you wanted to, now it's my turn to ask the questions."

"I'm in trouble huh?" Harm laughed.

"Not if you're honest. What exactly is going on between you and Mac?" Jim started idly plucking the B string on his guitar.

"I don't know, we became friends pretty fast and there was a period where that was it. That period of time just didn't last too long." Harm seemed to have a confused look on his face as he remembered the events of the first year of their partnership.

"Okay so when did you start thinking of her as more than a friend?" Jim raised his bottle to his lips and took another drink. Harm seemed to hesitate for a second a look around his apartment. Jim noticed Harm's gaze lock in on one picture in the room. Jim got up from his spot on the floor and walked over to the picture. "This is a good picture of you and Mac." He picked the picture up from the piece of furniture it was on.

"That's uh….that's not Mac." Harm seemed to wince as he heard the words escape his lips.

"Ah, well that answers about seven of my questions but it does beg several more, provided you don't mind my asking them." Jim was still trying to get a feel for his new friend's moods.

"No, I think we've gone through similar experiences on this one, if anyone can empathize with me, it's probably you." Harm threw himself down on the couch. "Her name was Diane, she was my…to be honest I don't know exactly what she was to me, I guess I could call her my Academy sweetheart."

"I see, when did it happen?" The older man's eyes were suddenly filled with compassion, he knew how tough the last year had been on him, how draining it was to lose someone you held so close.

"Not long before I met Mac actually. It was weird, the first time I saw Mac all I could think about was Diane, her smile good things mostly but also how she looked on the gurney at the scene." Harm's eyes began to well up.

"That's tough but it's never easy trying to deal with death, especially when it's someone you're that close to." He didn't know what to say and he found himself re-iterating the advice Matt O'Hara had given him a year earlier when Nikki had died.

"I don't see Diane any more when I look at Mac, it took a while though. I think it really started the first time the two of us went flying up in my Stearman. There was a stretch there for awhile where it looked like the second I found myself able to shake the spectre of Diane, I wanted to be with Mac but I held back, I guess I thought it wasn't fair to her or to myself, I had to be clear which one of them was stirring these feelings." Harm started pacing the floor as he talked causing a slightly amused smile to cross his friend's face.

"Holding back something implies that there was an opportunity to let it out. What you aren't saying Harm is probably far more important than what you are." Jim gradually got to his feet.

"Well when we were in Columbia she kind of almost kissed me, I mean I had the chance to pull her in and finish it but I didn't." Harm seemed to mentally kick himself as he walked behind the island in the kitchen.

"I see, well the two of you seem to have some kind of weird rapport going on and you both kind of have to work through it. I have no idea how you intend on going through with this but it should be entertaining to watch though." Jim smiled and laughed as he slugged Harm in the arm.

"Thanks a lot. I don't know what I'm going to do though, cause there are times when I think she really cares for me but than she'll do something like agree to go on a date with another guy. Like we just got back from this case on the Hornet, I got hurt a fair bit and she was there for me every time she even cancelled a date with this guy to make sure I was okay." Harm leaned into the island.

"Sounds like she's just trying to keep herself occupied while you work through your own personal stuff, but she's always there when you need her, so she seems to want to keep you around for something." With a less than subtle wink Jim laughed and finished off his beer.

"You wouldn't be condoning, suggesting or promoting fraternization would you Colonel?" Harm's sense of humour was back in full gear.

"Of course not, let me just add one thing Commander, I only ever looked at one woman the way you looked at Mac today in her office." Jim went back to his guitar and his spot on the floor.

"What happened?" Harm's face seemed buggered up in confusion.

"We were happily married for twenty-three years and had two beautiful children." With that Jim picked up his guitar and started strumming a song that he'd only ever heard once, it was on when the San Diego police called his house a year earlier. The intro to _It Never Rains in Southern California_ wasn't immediately recognizable to Harm and it was kind of interesting to hear an acoustic version of the song. When Jim had finished the song he packed up his guitar and after saying goodbye to Harm and sharing a very brotherly handshake, he left the apartment and drove to Georgetown to say goodnight to his son.

When Jim reached Mac's apartment, the lights were off and a shout of 'come in' came from the spare bedroom. Jim walked into the apartment and into the spare bedroom to see Mac singing David's favourite 'goodnight song' and gently stroking his hair as he fell asleep. "Daddy, Auntie Mac sings better than you do, but I like the song with the guitar." The young man gave a heavy yawn as his eyelids collapsed.

"What kind of kid falls asleep to the 'Marine Corps Hymn'?" Mac smiled as she got up from the side of the bed.

"Hey he just liked that one, I tried all the traditional songs, I even tried 'Puff the Magic Dragon' but he just liked that one." Jim was trying to be evangelical with his statement. "So how many times did he tell you that you were pretty tonight?"

"Fourteen." Mac said as the two of them sat down at the kitchen table.

"You're not getting tired of him saying it are you?" Jim laughed as Mac shook her head.

"It would be nice to hear it from a man who could act on it though." Mac's face was incredibly serious and almost sad.

"Shot in the dark, Harm?" Jim came out with it, brutal honestly was one of the great benefits of their friendship.

"For one…" Mac's voice trailed off, she knew her old friend was likely reading more into her face than she was telling him.

"Mac, not the Admiral, you've been down that road before, I almost beat up Farrow for that one, hell if we'd been of equal rank I probably would have hit John." Jim's voice seemed to gain annoyance just remembering it.

"Well the Admiral wouldn't be near the top of my list but even hearing it from him would be something." Mac chuckled a little.

"Going through a bit of a dry spell Mac?" Jim laughed right along with her.

"I get hit-on, there are a few guys who even ask me out, but the year hasn't exactly been a record-breaker." Mac looked down at the coffee cup sitting in front of her. Jim instinctively took the cup and started brewing a fresh pot of coffee.

"You always did reach for the sky, kid." Jim smiled as he brought two fresh cups of coffee over to the table.

"See, that's exactly what I'm talking about. You, you still treat me like I'm the same raucous teenager you met in Arizona all those years ago. I'm not the same woman Jim!" The frustration in Mac's voice was evident.

"I know that Mac, I mean I see the way you are with David and I know that you're gaining that maternal instinct that will make you very good mother some day. I've read about some of your investigations and I'm damn proud to know a tough intelligent Marine like you." Jim sat down across the table from Mac who looked at him as if he hadn't understood.

"Jim, when you look at me, what do you see?" She looked into his eyes.

"Mac the Marine, Mac the mature intelligent woman, Mac one of my oldest and dearest friends." Jim's voice became softer and his tone more understanding.

"Well that's certainly a different answer that you probably would've given when we first met." Mac smiled, her friend still looked at her like she was his little sister, but one that he couldn't be prouder of.

"It certainly is. Now as I recall, I still owe you dinner. Not promising anything spectacular though." Jim smiled as he got up from the table.

"Why do you think David likes hearing the Marine Corps Hymn before he falls asleep?" It was a question that had been nagging at Mac's head.

"The last two lines, I think he likes to believe that Mommy is safe because she's being protected by Marines in heaven the way he thinks I protected her here." A lone tear crept down Jim's cheek as the burden, which he had momentarily been relieved of, came crashing down on his shoulders. He tried to prevent the tears from coming, repeating to himself 'Marines don't cry'. He couldn't help it, a year of being strong of not crying, of maintaining his composure had broken him.

Mac caught him as he collapsed. His firm forearms wrapped themselves around her neck in a hug. He tried hard to compose himself but couldn't he couldn't hold back the tears, withhold the pain it all just came out and she was there to catch him. "I'm here." She whispered into his ear as his arms tensed.

"I know." He whispered back. "Thank you."


	2. Past Personalities

Getting back from the Sandra Gilbert court martial, Harmon Rabb Jr. walked into JAG headquarters for the first time in a couple of days. JAG was the same place it had largely been when he left, as he stood in the elevator his eye was caught by a pretty young Hispanic Midshipman running toward the elevator. As the doors closed, Harm reached out and held them open so that she wouldn't miss the elevator.

"Thanks." The young woman tried to catch her breath and than she looked up at him. "Do you tall, dark and handsome sailor types always try and help Midshipmen in distress?" She looked up at him with a smile on her face.

"Only the pretty ones." Harm responded.

"I don't know whether to be flattered or worried Commander." She tossed a playful wink at him.

"It's Harm, why would you be worried….?" Harm was fishing around for her name.

"Gabriella, I'm worried because I'm not sure a Midshipman should be hitting on a Lieutenant Commander, even if he is sexy." She nudged him in the arm with her elbow.

"You have no need to be worried Midshipman, I'm certainly not going to toss a 'red-light' comment your way." He gave her a trademark smile.

"Good, so you won't mind if I do this." She leaned up and gave him a kiss on the cheek than slipped a business card into his hand. "Call me." The elevator doors opened as they reached the JAG ops floor and the two of them stepped out.

"I'll do that." He laughed as she walked ahead of him toward the bullpen.

"Gabbs!" Mac shouted as she rushed toward Gabriella.

"Mac!" The two of them met in the middle of the bullpen in a hug. Harm's face was noticeably confused, the hamster on the wheel in his head had grinded to a halt.

"My daughter's here?" Jim's head popped out of his office to see two women hugging and one very confused Navy Lieutenant Commander with a look of fresh terror on his face. "Gabriella Maria Grant, come over here and give your old man a hug." The Marine Colonel opened the door to his office and his daughter ran over, pausing only momentarily to toss him a salute and a 'yes sir' before she threw herself into her father's arms.

"How have you been doing Daddy?" She stepped back from him and looked concerned at her father.

"Better and better everyday. Mac's been a real help with David since I got here. My CO's a damn nice guy, war-horse just like your old man. This place is also a pretty supporting atmosphere, damn easy to make friends here if you just let people in." Jim's wise grin came through as he talked to his daughter.

"Yeah well, it's nice to know that my big sister here can take care of you, old man." Gabriella laughed as she put her arm around Mac who had walked over to them.

"Oh Harm, come over here and meet my daughter Gabriella." Jim motioned for Harm to join the conversation. Harm walked over to them and a completely oblivious Jim made the unnecessary introduction. "Lieutenant Commander Harmon Rabb meet my daughter Midshipman Gabriella Grant." The two people extended their hands and shook trying to contain the laughter that just wanted to burst from them.

"Daddy, why don't Harm and Mac join us for that lunch I came here to take you to?" Gabriella traded a knowing smile with Harm.

"Excellent idea, what do the two of you think?" Jim looked first toward Mac and than over at Harm. The two officers nodded and than carried on a little bit of the conversation before going back to work. Mac, Harm and Jim had been called into the Admiral's office for a briefing on a successful Recon Marine extraction in Haiti. The Admiral brought them up to speed on what was going on and told Mac and Harm that they would be on their way to investigate the incident.

"I guess you're wondering why you're here Colonel?" The Admiral said as if he were finally acknowledging Jim's presence.

"To be honest sir, the thought had crossed my mind." Jim had a sarcastic smirk on his face.

"You're here because your orders to London have been rescinded in light of this event. The SECNAV thinks that having a Marine Force Judge Advocate would only cause problems in light of this action so for the time being you will be stationed here at JAG HQ, I guess this means you should be seeking more permanent accommodations." The Admiral hadn't wanted to deliver this news but it was part of the job description. "However, your promotion has come through as planned being as the O-6 board reported out late last night, the SECNAV called me personally with the news."

"Thank you sir." Jim came to attention in front of the Admiral's desk. The Admiral got up from behind his desk and replaced the leaves that were decorating Jim's shoulders with a new set of eagles.

"Congratulations Colonel." The Admiral said as the Marine fixed a salute to his superior officer. The Admiral returned the salute and shook the man's hand. "Don't let it go to your head Marine. There will be a wetting down for Colonel Grant once you two return from your investigation. Dismissed." With that the three officers came to attention in front of the Admiral's desk before leaving the office.

"The Eagles suit you better than the oak leaves did, Jim." Harm said as he gave his friend a pat on the back.

"Thanks, at least now that I know I'm going to have a permanent office here, I can order the right sign for over my door." Jim laughed as he broke ranks with Harm and Mac and headed toward his office. When Harm and Mac got to Mac's office they found Gabriella waiting for Mac.

"Mac who exactly is this Colonel Farrow and why did both you and Jim act like you were dumbstruck when you heard the name." Harm was completely oblivious to the fact that Gabbs was in the office and just proceeded with his questions.

"Harm I was his Admin Assistant in Okinawa." Mac protested but if Harm had looked at Gabbs' contained laughter he would have known that there was more to the situation than what Mac was divulging but as it was he just let the issue drop. "Gabriella I was meaning to ask you're dad is whiter than a ghost but you're Hispanic, was your mother Hispanic, I don't want to pry it was just curious." Harm was rambling by the end.

"Nikki was short for Nicoletta, my mother was Puerto Rican." Gabriella was trying to put the confused look on Harm's face to rest but she could see more questions were waiting to be asked. "My little brother takes after my father with his looks and I take after my mom, Commander."

"Oh." Harm left the office causing a round of chuckles to be shared between the two women. Not wanting to interrupt girl-talk, Harm left the office.

"So Mac, John's in trouble and you have to go find out exactly what he's done to earn it this time." Gabbs seemed to think that being an adult now gave her the right to be blunt.

"This time? Gabbs, he didn't really earn it the last time." Mac shot back.

"He had an affair with someone under his command, Mac. Being involved, I didn't think you'd forget so quickly." Gabriella wanted to remind Mac that it was Mac's influence that had brought out her own Marine toughness.

"You're almost as bad as your father, you know that." Mac chuckled sarcastically a little; the younger woman continued her inquisition.

"Yeah well if Colonel Farrow ends up on trial here at JAG I don't think he's going to enjoy my dad tearing a strip off of him, he only missed out last time because my dad was a Major." Gabriella got up from the chair.

"Yeah, now that your dad's a superior officer I imagine John's going to get an ear-full." Mac leaned back in her chair.

"Dad's only a Lieutenant Colonel, Mac, they're the same rank." Mac had forgotten that Gabriella hadn't heard the news.

"Gabbs, the O-6 board got out last night, your dad is now a full bird." Mac informed the woman she had always referred to as her 'little sister'.

"Oh, well in that case you're right. I'd be surprised if there was anything left of John when my dad got through with him. So Mac, anything going on between you and Commander Cover Model?" Gabriella sat back down in her chair.

"Who, Harm? No, we're just friends." Mac's enthusiasm seemed drained.

"Mac, I know that look, you've got a thing for Harm!" Gabriella's voice had reached a small screech by the end of that sentence. "I may just have to turn him down now if he calls me."

"You made a pass at him?" Mac's eyebrows perked in a playful way.

"I hit on him, kissed him on the cheek and gave him my number." Gabriella responded with a smile on her face.

"The ever popular direct approach." Mac responded.

"It's effective, you should try it Mac, it might just get you what you want." Gabriella tossed her friend a knowing look.

"I do not want Harm!" Mac protested.

"You're a bad liar, MacKenzie." Gabriella chuckled.

"I'm not the one who hit on him Gabbs." Mac leaned over the table.

"No, you're the one who gives him goo-goo eyes and refuses to just do what every instinct in her body has to be telling her to do." Gabbs wasn't going to be a JAG but just like her dad, it would be a hell of a fallback option.

"Oh and what would that be?" Mac was being very serious, or at least attempting to be.

"Walk into his office and plant one on him." Gabriella had a huge comical smile on her face as she reached across the desk and nudged Mac in the arm.

"You know that would be completely inappropriate in the office. Besides, I'm not sure he even thinks of me like that. All I know from talking to him is that he doesn't look at me like a sister." Mac fired back; her arguments were starting to make less and less sense to herself as she said them aloud.

"Yeah and sitting behind a desk in a stuffy little Virginia office is really going to help you find out. At least my solution would resolve something."

"In a completely inappropriate manner. You're actually more his speed, Miss Future Marine Aviator." Mac was holding back some laughter. Gabbs was more likely than any other woman on the planet to drive Harm insane. "Gabbs, I'd love to keep talking but Harm and I have to leave for this investigation so, if you don't mind." Mac subtly motioned toward the door and Gabbs took the hint.

"Alright, I'll go, but you know you want to." Gabbs left the office just as Harm was entering. The two slid passed one another in the doorway of Mac's office, exchanging a coy smile before they went their separate ways.

"What does she think you want to do Mac?" Harm had a look of inquisitive ignorance on his face as he leaned against the door in her office.

"Nothing, it was just a little girl talk. You know?" Mac was stumbling over her words but the sentence at least appeared coherent.

"Actually I don't know, why don't you fill me in?" Harm took a seat in front of Mac's desk. Mac looked like she was scrambling for something to say that would allow her to control the conversation.

"We were just talking about your encounter with her this morning. How you hit on her and she kissed you." Mac's face carried a look of mock inquisitiveness as Harm turned bright pink with a nervous smile.

"Yeah well, I mean it all kind of happened really fast. Scared the crap out of me when I found out she was Jim's daughter, I don't want to have my six in the cross-hairs of a superior officer, especially a Marine." Harm let out a nervous laugh.

"Yeah well I'd say Gabbs is more of a threat to you than Jim is. But hey you two do share one thing in common." Mac tried to look as uninterested as possible.

"What's that?" Harm looked curious, his right eyebrow peaked.

"You're both going to be aviators in a matter of years." Mac stated as though the situation was having no emotional effect on her.

"Navy?" Harm tried to show a mock hopefulness.

"Marines." Mac shot back with a smile.

"Can't win them all. Well I'm sure I could teach her a thing or two." Harm tossed Mac that smile that made her want to do exactly what Gabbs had suggested.

"I'm sure that Jim will be thrilled that you're teaching his twenty-year old daughter how to use the stick in the cockpit." Mac had crafted the sentence just so she could use that innuendo.

"Well I don't think I'd put it quite like that." Harm suddenly went back from relaxed to nervous when the thought came back that dating that certain Midshipman would mean having to put up with a Recon Marine Colonel.

"Of course you wouldn't. Okay Harm, enough of the office gossip, we have an investigation to conduct remember?" Mac got up from behind her desk.

"Right." With that the two of them left to conduct their investigation on the extraction of the Marines from Haiti days earlier.

When Harm and Mac had returned from their investigation days later they found the office much the same as it had been when they left it. With Colonel Grant operating as the Admiral's Chief of Staff the bullpen operated with efficiency only a Marine was capable of; though even Colonel Grant would admit that none of this would have been possible without Ensign Sims.

"Ensign Sims, I must really commend you on your initiative and hard work in the last few days that the office has been without the Major and the Commander, you've helped the Admiral and myself keep this place running smoothly." Jim said as he read the affidavit in front of him.

"Thank you sir." Harriet replied as the Colonel walked passed her. Mac and Harm entered the office a few moments later while Jim was at Bud's desk helping him with an argument regarding a legal precedent.

"Morning Major, Commander, I trust the investigation went well." Jim got up from the desk and walked over toward his two colleagues.

"Colonel Farrow is being brought before a court-martial sir." Harm seemed relaxed but Mac was noticeably tense about the news. Just as Jim was about add some sentiment to the news, Petty Officer Tiner appeared.

"Sirs, Ma'am, the Admiral would like to see you in his office." Tiner said and came to attention before being dismissed and returning to his desk. The three officers made their way toward the Admiral's office. Harm knocked and a gruff 'Enter!' was heard through the door. The three officers snapped to attention before their CO's desk.

"Colonel Farrow is about to go before a court-martial and the SECNAV has a bug in his craw about this case. He says we can't have officers disobeying orders from COMCARIB just because they have loyalties to their branch of the service. The SECNAV wants this trial so air-tight of mistakes that no matter the outcome it cannot be questioned. As such, Rabb and MacKenzie you'll be working the prosecution, I trust this is not a problem?"

"No sir!" The two of them were rather emphatic with their reply.

"Good because you two had better be on the top of your game, the defence council is a rather formidable opponent." The Admiral looked self-satisfied, Jim looked annoyed he felt he was getting stuck with the defence and Harm and Mac looked confused. "I will be defending Colonel Farrow. Now Colonel Grant, I realize that this probably has you wondering why you're here."

"The thought had crossed my mind, sir." Jim seemed relieved that he would not have to be defending John.

"Colonel, you've been working largely administratively since you've arrived and that's great because it's kept the office in working order. I also realize that you have something of a personal history with Colonel Farrow, a quick cross-reference of your personnel files will show that you two shared a duty station in Okinawa for some time. However, I can't keep an experienced trial lawyer and Recon Marine in the bullpen for this one, I want you to second chair."

"I'd be glad to work with you sir." Jim's tone was telling.

"I have a feeling there's a 'however' coming." The Admiral's tone was not forgiving.

"Permission to speak freely sir?" Jim inquired.

"Granted."

"Colonel Farrow and I have been at odds before over certain behaviour of his which was unbecoming of one in a position of command. I was rather vocal with my opposition to his behaviour and it nearly brought the two of us to blows on several occasions." The anger was in Jim's voice just from remembering the incidents.

"I see, do you think that this feud will prevent you from assisting me in defending the Colonel to the greatest of your abilities?" The Admiral was trying to contain the fact that he expected better from his Chief of Staff.

"No sir, I have full confidence that I will be able to assistance in his defence to the best of my abilities. My concern comes with whether or not the Colonel and I will brawl over past transgressions." Jim said with a half-sarcastic smile.

"Lock it up Marine! I couldn't honestly care less about your personal history with Colonel Farrow, I care only about whether the senior officer under my command, not to mention my Chief of Staff will be able to stop acting like a child long enough to do his job, understood?" The Admiral was annoyed so much that he had managed to get in Jim's face. The Marine Colonel merely nodded toward his Commanding Officer to show that he understood. "Good, now that we have that settled. I also understand that it's foolish for anyone, even a SEAL to get in between two Marines bent on a bar fight, so I will give you half an hour with Colonel Farrow when he gets here tomorrow, in which the two of you can work out whatever personal conflict may arise."

"Thank you sir." Jim returned to a classic stoic Marine expression.

"And Colonel, I realize those new Eagles on your shoulders are going to do a lot of screaming tomorrow but keep their talons in place would you." The Admiral's analogy was delivered with a lessening anger. "Dismissed people." After snapping to attention they all filed out of the Admiral's office. Harm, Mac and Jim walked through the bullpen toward Bud's desk when the silence between the three of them was broken.

"So Commander, my daughter informs me that you asked her out on a date when you got in last night." Jim seemed nonchalant about the fact he had just stated. Harm looked like a deer in headlights and Mac looked more than amused by the whole situation. "It's fine Commander, unlike a lot of men she could have picked you at least have a job and a sense of honour, loyalty and duty. But if what we discussed while we were working on the Hillier case, should become apparent I trust that you will handle the situation in a mature way."

"Yes sir." Harm seemed to have arrived at the same unspoken understanding that the Colonel had. "I think we may have to clarify one thing though, your daughter didn't exactly say yes, she said she'd get back to me." Harm's confused look upon saying the last sentence caused Mac and Jim to laugh.

"That sounds like Gabbs, hold tight Commander." Jim laughed as he patted the younger man on the shoulder and walked toward his office.

"What just happened here?" Harm looked at Mac like a dog at a high pitched sound.

"Either you were given the brush off by the daughter or welcomed to the family by the father. I never really could tell what Jim was thinking." Mac laughed.

"So what happened between Jim and Colonel Farrow that's going to cause some ringing ears tomorrow?" Harm changed the conversation.

"That's classified information, sailor." Mac said with a small nervous laugh.

"CIA related?" Harm looked inquisitive. He leaned over her slightly, it was then that Mac noticed exactly how easy it would be for her to do exactly what Gabbs had suggested and just 'plant one on him'.

"No, just 'need to know' Commander." Mac said coyly and tossed Harm a weak smile.

"Mac, we're prosecuting one of the people involved and the other person is his defence council, I think I need to know." There were mere inches separating them now, she could feel the heat of his breath. She was fighting what was barely a winning war for her composure.

"It's unrelated Commander, now if you'll excuse me." Mac walked back toward her office and threw herself down behind her desk. He knees had almost given in during that last exchange. Had Harm felt the electricity that had run in both directions on her spine while he was leaning over her? He had to, no one could have missed it. Harm had followed her into her office, this time to try and get a track on the prosecution that they were going to have to present.

"Mac, we're going to have to talk about how we're going to prosecute Colonel Farrow." Harm sat across from her.

"You're right." Mac seemed distanced from the conversation.

"What's up Mac, you okay?" Harm's concern was evident.

"Yeah, it's nothing really." She was covering, but she was good enough at it that he really didn't catch it. "I guess it just seems like the past keeps coming back on me lately." She sighed as she leaned back in her chair.

"Mac, we've been over this, you can't save a man who doesn't want saving." His concern rising, she seemed to be conflicted.

"Were you talking about Colonel Farrow or Grant?"

"Both I guess, it's amazing how alike the two men are. Mac, neither man is exactly clamouring for help yet you keep trying to lend it to them." Harm was trying to help.

"You two have become friends since he has been stationed here. You're trying to tell me that you wouldn't help him if you thought he needed it?" Mac was getting frustrated.

"If I thought he needed help, yes. But from his action's I can tell he's capable of handling the situation. You on the other hand seem to have taken it upon yourself to try and become everything he's missing in his life." Harm fired back, regretting the words the second he said them.

"What's that supposed to mean?" If there was a more offended look in the world than the one on Mac's face, Harm had never seen it.

"Mac you act like your David's mother and I see the way you look at Jim. You look at him like…like." His voice cut off but his inner monologue added the rest' _'Like you look at me sometimes'_.

"Like what Harm?" Her eyes were a cross of inquisition and accusation. "For your information, it takes a lot of effort to raise a child, so yeah I help Jim out with it and I'm sorry if you don't like that it makes me maternal. As for how I look at him, I really don't see why that would be any of your business unless…" She looked at him and saw the look of a deer in headlights. She didn't particularly want to get into a fight with Harm so she decided to lighten the mood. "Harm, you're not jealous?"

"Me? No. I just don't want to see you get hurt." Her slight pause in the conversation had allowed him time to anticipate the question and come up with a response.

"Don't worry about me Harm it's not like that. I guess when you help someone out with their child the way I've been helping Jim, those kind of thoughts are just by-products." She smiled. It was an interesting thought, last year wasn't a record-breaker sure, but this year wasn't shaping up too badly. The two of them worked the rest of the day in the office on their prosecution while the Admiral and Colonel Grant sat across the bullpen in the Admiral's office.

At around 1730 when everyone was securing for the day Harm decided to pay Jim a visit in his office only to find the Marine buried under a mound of paperwork. "Hey buddy, you got a second?"

"Sure, just signing a bunch of waivers to get most of my stuff shipped here out of a storage depot in San Diego. What's up?" Jim looked up from his paperwork to see his friend making himself at home in his office.

"The Admiral said you should look for more permanent accommodations, you found a place yet?" Harm's way of making small talk.

"Not yet, with this frickin' Farrow case my time's been pretty occupied." Jim ran one more signature across a white piece of paper and slid it into his Out-Box.

"There's an apartment in my building that's been vacant for some time, it's right below me. The neighbourhood's not great, but hey, how often do you get to pick your neighbours?" Harm laughed slightly.

"Sounds like a plan, thanks for the inside track on this one." The two men shook hands as Harm left the office for the day and Jim picked up the phone to place a call. Harm walked down the stairs and ran into Mac in the parking lot.

"I just found myself a new neighbour." Harm smiled as the two of them walked side by side through the parking lot. Mac looked up at him, curiosity played upon her face. "Our favourite Marine colonel is checking out the apartment below mine." She smiled and gave an exaggerated nod of understanding.

"I should be worried I think. Outside of me, the two of you really don't have much in common, what exactly is it that the two of you talk about?" Mac had failed to catch him in the office earlier, she was going to take another shot at it here.

"You, music, sports and work largely." Harm smiled. "But mostly you."

"Really, what do you guys say when you talk about me?" Mac nudged him in the shoulder.

"We basically talk about how we have to stop spoiling you. You've got it too easy with guys like us in your life Mac." Harm smiled as the two of them reached his car.

"Too easy? You two make my life anything but easy." _Because I have to choose_, she added under her breath. "If I'm not playing mommy at my apartment, I'm at work trying to clean up some mess you've made. Between the two of you I can't get away from additional duty." Mac smiled.

"Some mess I've made? We both tend to make our fair share of messes Major." Harm laughed as opened the door to his car. "And to think, with all the extra time I figured you'd be spending over at my building, I was considering buying an air mattress."

"You were? Flyboy are you trying to get me to move in with you?" She smiled coyly at him and perked an eyebrow.

"No I just figured on long nights it might not be a bad thing to have around. It might be easier than having you drive back across Washington at 2200 all the time." Now he was scrambling with his words.

"Is that what you thought, flyboy? Or were you just hoping for a few slumber parties with your favourite Marine?" She looked over her shoulder at Harm who was leaning on his car.

"Too late to plead the fifth, Major?" He tossed her a trademark smile and Mac walked back over toward him, she stopped before getting all the way over to his car.

"Harm, you remember what I told you in Columbia about Dress Whites?" She smiled a sort of teasing smile. He nodded to signify that he knew she was talking about. "I've had time to reconsider my position."

Harm's eyes lit up as he tried to move toward her. "And?" Mac started to back away toward her car.

"I'll tell you later." She called over her shoulder as she walked toward her car. Harm smiled as he got into his own car and drove off.

The next morning was easily the most entertaining that had yet been experienced at JAG headquarters, at least as far as AJ Chegwidden was concerned. For the last year he'd always been something of a removed observer, a wiseman, an Obi-Wan to the officers under his command. John Farrow was the first person in the office after him that morning; John was followed by Harm, than finally Mac and Jim came in around the same time as had been normally for the last few weeks.

Colonel Farrow was standing in the bullpen talking with the Admiral when the pair of them saw the very angry Marine get off the elevator and dump his briefcase in his office before walking over to where the Admiral was standing. "Admiral sir, with your permission, I'd like to conference with our client for a moment."

"Agreed." The Admiral motioned toward the Colonel's office. The two Marines turned on heel and went to Colonel Grant's office. The Admiral stood in the bullpen and a crowd seemed to gather in the bullpen, the machine that was JAG ops seemed to be grinding down in pace. Mac and Harm stood on either side of the Admiral as they watched the two Marine senior officers cloister themselves off in the office.

"Come to attention, Marine!" Those were the first words out of Jim's mouth as John Farrow stood in his office. "Now, I realize that you might think that I would detest being assigned to this case. You are wrong! In your situation I would have done the same thing. Marines need to know that their lives are more important than politics; that they can trust in their officers to protect them as much as we trust in them to protect the lives and freedoms of Americans."

A smile grew on John Farrow's face as he realized that maybe his former junior officer, now his senior officer, was not going to chew him out about an incident of many years earlier. "That having been said, I'm not sure I can trust your judgement John! Not after Okinawa. My God man, what were you thinking? Part of me is glad that Cresswell and I nailed your ass to the wall on that one. We're going to put that incident aside so that we can get on with what is currently important. So John, now that I've aired my grievances is there any thing that you would like to add?"

"Sir, I think that your feelings on that particular issue were biased by your relationship to the officer in question. However I, like you, am a big enough man to set aside our differences on that case. It is nice to know, that my council, a fellow Recon Marine officer, would have supported my decision." John was the same stoic Marine. Jim stood next to him, his arms crossed and his shoulders thrusting the Eagles on his shoulders higher into the air.

"I'm not going to lie to you John, it's an uphill fight." The two men seemed to see the warrior understanding on one another's face.

"Well Colonel, when you and I were stationed in Okinawa, I looked at your service record, you were never scared of an uphill fight." John laughed.

"You're lucky you got a Recon Marine and a Navy SEAL on your defence team. Between the three of us we might just be crazy enough to get you exonerated." The two men shared a laugh. "Alright, we good?" Jim asked as John came to attention next to him.

"Better than ever, sir." John spun on heel and turned toward the door of the office.

"Alright, now let's go into that bullpen and confer with senior council so that we can make sure that a damn fine Marine doesn't end up in the brig for doing what every Marine CO in his right mind would have done." Jim patted John on the back and the two of them walked out into the bullpen.

"What in the hell is going on? I could've sworn that I was going to see blood out of the two of them this morning." AJ Chegwidden looked a little surprised by the result that was the two Marines walking out of the office even laughing at a few combat jokes.

"Yeah, I've known the two of them longer than either of you and I was sure they were coming to blows today." Mac's mouth was wide open in shock. "In fact I was willing to go 2 to 1 that one of them was going to end up in the emergency room."

"This bodes well for your defence Admiral." Harm added.

"Sure does, unfortunately, it does not bode well for the prosecution Commander." The Admiral gave a small self assured smile before joining the two Marines on the war path to his office. Jim dropped back for a moment to talk with Harm.

"I found out about that apartment last night, buddy. When I told them I was a single father and a Marine they seemed pleased but there was one thing that clinched it." He smiled as the two men talked.

"What was that?" Harm's curiosity comes out in passing.

"I used you as a reference." Jim fired back with a small chuckle.

"What'd they say to that?" Harm's curiosity was no longer confined to passing sentiment.

"When can you move in?" Jim turned away from his friend and into the Admiral's office.

"Well I guess this means I'm going to be spending a lot more time at that building of yours, flyboy." Mac smiled as she poked Harm in the ribs.

"Should I re-think the air mattress?" Harm laughed as the two of them walked toward his office.

"Maybe."

"I'll do it on one condition."

"What's that?"

"You tell me exactly what you rethought about your position on dress whites and gold wings."

"I'll think about it." And with that the door slammed to Harm's office.


	3. Record Breaking Years

A/N: ATTENTION SHIPPERS! Sorry, I always wanted to do that. Anyway, there's a particularly tough part in this chapter that I'm sure you won't like. Please bare with me, I'm one of you. I just couldn't help myself from writing it.

"I still can't believe he kissed her!" Mac scrubbed the pan with a furious intensity.

"What do you care Mac, it's not like you're dating him." Jim stood at the sink next to and playfully bumped her with his hips forcing as small smile to come to her face.

"That's not the point Jim, we were on an investigation. We were investigating his mentor and he still couldn't keep his brain activity above his belt-line." Mac stopped scrubbing to look out the window behind the sink.

"Was justice done in the case?" Jim's question alone told Mac that he didn't understand the point.

"Yes, Harm was able to prove that the flight instructor was unfit for flight status." Mac acquiesced.

"Can you prove he kissed her, it's entirely possible that she kissed him? It sometimes happens with younger women and men in positions of authority." He immediately went to retract his statement. "Mac I did not mean that in the way it sounded."

"So you're not only defending him, you're throwing my past back at me? What the hell kind of friend are you?" She turned away from the sink and started toward the door.

"Mac listen to me; I was not trying to talk about John, I think everyone involved in that situation has tried to put it behind them." He turned toward her as she was going to get her coat. The sight of a Recon Marine Colonel with dish soap bubbles covering his hands made her smile if not quite laugh.

"Alright, if you weren't talking about John just who were you talking about?" Mac loved this; she'd managed to catch up Harm a few times last week, tripping up Jim right now would just be icing on the cake.

"General statement. It's true though, we're both lawyers, how many times could the two of us think of where a junior officer has had a crush on her superior? The atmosphere is conducive to that kind of romanticism, the older man is battle-hardened, he has authority and wisdom and often he also has a sort of physical quality that's been built up by twenty years of fit-reps." He smiled as she threw down her coat and came and sat next to him on the couch.

"Well I wouldn't blame it all on the women, Colonel. You males are pretty inviting with keeping the advances coming." Mac smiled and leaned her head on one hand.

"Single men are attention whores. If a woman shows them the slightest bit of attention a single man will do anything to clamour for more." Jim smiled as he got off the couch and walked back to the sink. Mac watched him stand at the sink, he was wearing an old Beatles long sleeve t-shirt that he used to play baseball in when they were both in Arizona. Only he'd been a scrawny lieutenant than, those twenty years of fit-reps had certainly filled him out.

"You're a single man now you know, you sure you should be so self-deprecating?" Mac smiled as she watched over the back of the couch.

"I'm a grieving man; I haven't been a single man since I was twelve." He gave a weak smile as he looked back at her.

"You're a strong man, I don't know many people who could've made it through what you've gone through in the last year and wouldn't have weekly therapy sessions." She looked understanding.

"Thanks Mac, you just take it one day at a time and realize that it's a long process. It's been fourteen months but I still feel it every time I look at my son, or at Gabbs. People are like wounds Mac, the ones that don't really impact you leave scabs for a small period of time before falling away, the ones that really impact you leave scars that you'll never get rid of." She saw him withdraw his hands from the water and brace himself on the counter.

"How much of your heart have you got left?" She was concerned; there were times recently when her friend sounded so defeated. He looked over his shoulder at her and couldn't shake the broken expression on his face.

"Have you ever felt hollow Mac?" He turned to face her and walked back over to the couch. She saw the pain that was still in his eyes, she had wanted to help him, she thought he'd been doing better in the last few weeks he'd been at JAG.

"Once or twice, it's got to be the worst feeling in the world. It's that one where you stand there and you feel gutted, like someone's ripped your soul from your body." She looked empathetically into his eyes and placed a hand on his knee.

"Yeah, I felt that way for a long time. Until I got here, you started helping me find me again. Harm, turned out to be one of the best guys I've ever served with or met in my life, he's one hell of a friend. Bud, Harriet and even the Admiral have all helped in their own little ways. But you, you Mac, started it all, you've helped more than anyone else." The two of them met in a hug. "Thank you Mac."

"Someone's got to be there for you Marine. I just can't get over the fact that I wasn't there earlier." She was repressing tears.

"You had no way of knowing, don't torture yourself over it. You've done more than anyone else." As the two pulled out of the hug they sat there looking each other in the eye, trying to figure out exactly what there was, what was happening in the apartment that night, when David came walking out of his room.

"Daddy! You said you'd never wear that shirt again! That was mommy's favourite." The young man looked indignantly at his father as he sat there on the couch.

"Sorry buddy, laundry day, guess this was the only thing in the closet that still fit and even it's kind of small." He looked down; the shirt had ripped along the seams in shoulder and across the side, not to mention that the growth of his shoulders since he first got it meant that the shirt barely came down over his abs. He saw that his son wasn't bending; he did not want his dad wearing the shirt that his mom used to love his dad wearing. Jim took the shirt off and handed it to his son. "You happy now sport?"

David took the shirt his father handed him and threw it in the garbage under the sink. "There, now happy." The young man tossed his father an unapologetic smile before walking back into his room. Mac stifled a laugh before returning to that conversation.

"What's so funny there Miss Marine?" Jim looked over at her with an amused grin.

"A few things actually. First of all, your son has you wrapped around his finger. Secondly, that kid is getting far too smart for his own good. Third, the last time you took that shirt off in front of me was when you and Matt played the MPs for the championship back in Yuma, remember?" Mac's smiled was every bit as unapologetic as David's had been but for different reasons. She was scanning his torso, there were things there she didn't remember from the old days in Arizona, scars, wounds that had left there mark. "Go put a shirt on Marine!"

"What? You never used to mind when I walked around like this during baseball season." He laughed as he walked over to his closet.

"Yeah but you were all scrawny then. From what I remember I can state that you still can't tan worth a darn, Colonel." Mac smiled as she slapped him across the bare back.

"Oh so it was fine for me to walk around without a shirt when I had no real muscle mass and was tall and gawky. Now that I've been working out for twenty years I have to put a shirt on. Trying to tell me something Mac? Am I going to have to restrain you?" He laughed as he pulled another shirt over his head.

"Yeah, nice pecks Colonel." She laughed as he took his place on the couch next to her. "Jim, what do you think of Dalton Lowne?"

"Professionally, I think he stands for everything that I as a military lawyer should rightfully hate. I read an article he published in a legal journal a few months back. Personally, having run into him at a function I attended in Washington a few years back, I believe he's the American equivalent of Korean Hemmhoragic Fever. Why do you ask?" Jim's grin was wide and his shoulders shook as he laughed.

"He asked me out on a date." Mac stated as she looked into his eyes awaiting the reaction. A coughing and choking Marine Colonel was one reaction she had anticipated and got.

"You can do better Mac, much better." His response was understated but direct; Jim was always able to speak her mind with her. He was never forceful, he was just honest.

"Yeah? Like who, Harm?" She looked into his eyes, Harm had told her that he and Jim talked about her, maybe she could find out exactly what about.

"You seem kind of hung up on him, so yeah, I' d say Harm would be a great choice for you." Jim had a self-satisfied wise smile on his face.

"What about you?" Her eyes looked into his but he got evasive and looked away.

"Me? Harm would be a terrible choice for me. I'd have to give up my career in the Marines." He laughed as he looked back her. "Besides, the man is on a date with my daughter right now, it would make things really awkward."

"Jim don't joke, we were about to kiss before David came in, at least I think we were about to." She was moving toward something, but something stronger in her gut told her it was a mistake.

"We were." He looked at her, disappointed, not in her but in himself. "It would have been a kiss of gratitude, just like the last one, Mac." They both thought of the last one, what it was that night that he had saved her.

"That's all we'll ever share isn't it, the ability to help save one another?" Her eyes were understanding.

"Yeah, but in this world of ours, it's not a bad thing to share with a person. Besides, I know Gabbs, men are wild impulses to her, she'll get bored of Harm eventually and go after someone her own age, probably a Marine. You won't have to wait long to get what you want Mac." He smiled at her.

"Thanks for tonight, Jim." She got up from the couch and got her coat.

"No problem Mac, just remember, Harm's got the reins at the office tomorrow, keep him grounded." He shot her a friendly smile.

"I still can't believe you're going golfing with the Admiral, the SECNAV and the Deputy Chief of Naval Operations." Mac shot back as she opened the door.

"I know it sucks, Marines hate losing, but if I want future promotions I'm going to have to do just that tomorrow. 'Night Marine." He watched as Mac slipped out the door.

"Night Jim." She closed the door behind her.

The next day came fast and furious over both JAG headquarters and the foursome out on the golf course. "AJ said you were a good golfer, Colonel. So far I've got you beat by five strokes." Secretary Nelson was a pain in the ass. "Not to mention the fact that I've out-driven you on every hole." He was really pouring salt in the Marine's wounds.

"Must be your lucky day, sir." Jim replied as Admiral Chegwidden shot him a look.

"Maybe or maybe the Admiral just over-hyped you Colonel." With that the Secretary launched a two-hundred yard drive off to the left side of the fairway. Admirals Chegwidden and Clancy sent similar shots into the fairway before the Colonel stepped up to address his ball. He brought his driver back in a mighty backswing before following through and crushing the ball a stunning two hundred ninety-one yards.

"Looks like the luck is shifting Mr. Secretary." Jim said with a smug look of satisfaction on his face. Just as he was about to pile into the golf-cart next to the SECNAV his cell-phone rang. "Grant."

"Sir, this is Lieutenant Roberts, the Commander told me to call you, he said the DC police are down here pushing to take custody of a suspect who is currently in our custody." Bud's mouth was running a mile a minute.

"Alright, you want me to put the Admiral on, as JAG this is really more his purview." Jim handed the Admiral the phone.

"Chegwidden…uh huh….uh huh...uh huh. Lieutenant, you the Commander and the Major sit tight, reinforcement is on the way." The Admiral clicked the phone off and lowered his voice. "There's a situation with a civilian, former Marine, murder suspect at JAG HQ. He's spinning Rabb some yarn about having been in the same POW camp as Harm's father, the place was Dong Ha I believe. Either you or I are going to have to leave this game and go back and help them. If you were the JAG what would you do?"

"Well sir, I would head back to JAG headquarters and stand up for JAG jurisdiction rather than have a DC cop piss on our rug." The Marine colonel had his iron jaw locked and an intimidating expression fixed on his face.

"That's why you'll make a hell of a JAG someday, now haul ass Marine!" The Admiral gave him a friendly slug on the shoulder as the Marine jogged up the ninth fairway back to the parking lot and his car.

Back at JAG HQ Harm was in his office with Roscoe Martin, Bud stood outside the office trying to keep Detective Coster at by while Harm tried to get information from him. Mac was sitting in her office with some man in a suit. As Colonel Grant rushed into the building he was tightening the belt that came over his uniform jacket.

"Colonel, sir!" Bud ran toward him, Coster following on the young lieutenant's heels.

"Yes Lieutenant, I'm here, now what's all the hubbub?" Jim stood ramrod straight in front of the detective, affording Coster the opportunity to look him square in the chin.

"Sir, the detective here has been rather insistent that he take Mr. Martin, that is, the man who's in Commander Rabb's office, into the custody of the DC Police." Bud had been trying to stall with some success but Coster was growing insistent.

"Is this true detective?" The Colonel had fixed a hard glare on the detective in front of him. Coster merely nodded. "I'll go see what's keeping Commander Rabb." Colonel Grant turned toward the Harm's office; he opened the door to see Harm deep in conversation with the man whom Jim could only assume was the suspect in question. Harm's attention shifted momentarily as his superior officer entered the room. "Harm, sorry to interrupt, but that detective's out here pushing to get him. How much time you need?"

"How much can you get me?" Harm stood in front of his acting-commander and friend with a lowered voice.

"I'll bet I can get Coster out of here at least long enough for him to have to come back with a federal court order. That should take about two hours, Harm I can't promise much more." He gave his friend a pat on the shoulder.

"Thanks Jim, I'll get back to it." The two men exchanged nods before Harm went back to Roscoe and Jim left the office. Coster went walking toward the door but Jim stuck out his hand to prevent Coster from going any further.

"Is my suspect ready?" Coster asked as the Marine's arm stopped him dead in his tracks.

"No, he remains in the custody of the Judge Advocate General of the United States Navy until I give you further notice." Jim's tone was level and calm.

"Fine than Colonel I have no choice but to charge you with obstruction of justice. You can make this easier on yourself by just coming with me or I can cuff you." Coster looked him right in the eye but nothing could have prepared him for what came next.

"Listen to me you little parasite of a man! Unless you can come back here with my arrest warrant and an order from a federal judge that tells me I have to release that suspect into your custody, neither of us is leaving this building. Now outside of that you have two options, you can either bring the Secretary of the Navy or Jesus Christ down here to tell me I have to let that man out of this building, aside from that you don't have a snowball's chance in hell of getting him. YOU READ ME DETECTIVE!" A very red-faced and stubborn Marine stood toe-to-toe with the police force veteran.

"Why don't I take the detective out to the courtyard for a more civilized conversation and see if there's anything the military can do for him while we finish up our investigation, Colonel?" Mac to the rescue.

"Sounds like a dandy idea Major, sorry I didn't think of it. Don't worry I'll ensure the client in your office doesn't get restless." Mac's look of surprise and hesitance was enough to tell the Colonel not to push the situation. "Then again, I'm sure he'll be fine on his own." Jim tossed her a knowing look that said 'I'm sure I'll hear all about this later.'

Harm and Bud took Roscoe off to one of the courtroom's while Mac kept Coster busy. Harm returned from the courtroom a little while later after Coster and Roscoe had left the company of our friendly neighbourhood JAG officer. Harm entered his office, Bud hot on his tails. He had to let off some steam, the whole day had built up around him, and he was like a powder keg raring to set him off.

"Sir?" Bud looked confusedly up at his mentor. Harm was just leaning on the side of his window looking down into the JAG courtyard where Mac was standing with Dalton. As he looked out the window he saw his partner, his best friend, his… those were the only words he could think of, the only words that fit right now, no matter how much he wanted her to be more, she wasn't yet. But what she was, was kissing Dalton Lowne.

"FUCK!" Harm picked up the three-hole punch from his desk and hurled it against an opposing wall causing Bud to duck. The obscenity and the following crash were heard through out the office. Action in the bullpen ground to halt, Bud's worried confusion matched up perfectly in reaction to Harm's instant anger.

"Sir what was that all about?" Bud looked worried, he'd never seen the Commander this angry. Harm was hyperventilating, he'd never lost control that easily, but one week he and Mac are flirting pretty heavily and now…this. The now familiar sight of a surprised Marine colonel decorated Harm's doorway within the seconds following the crash.

"Harm, what in the Sam Hill did you think you were doing? How in the hell are either of us going to explain this to Chegwidden tomorrow. I don't imagine 'Commander Rabb, in a state of utter insanity tried to decapitate Lieutenant Roberts with a three-hole punch and in so doing blew a three foot hole in the wall of his office', is going to look good on an accident report. Now tell me Commander, was the wall preparing to launch an offensive or something." Jim's ire was building up to the point where he was red-faced and mere inches from Harm.

The very annoyed Marine waited for some sense of explanation but all that could be seen was Harm's eyes glancing over at. "Something out of the window seems to have caught your attention Commander, why don't I just take a look." Before he could be stopped Colonel Grant walked over to Harm's office window only to see the exact same sight that Harm had seen and a sudden wash of understanding came over him. "Commander Rabb, I understand that you would probably like to deal with this issue on your own and normally I would let you, but you decided to fly off the handle and damage government property I _have _to deal with you. Since Lieutenant Roberts was nearly guillotined, I believe he deserves to know why, but I will leave the Lieutenant's presence in the room up to you."

"I believe you're right sir, my behaviour nearly caused him an injury, he has a right to know why." Harm stood ramrod straight. This was a major screw-up, he'd nearly killed Bud and now he was forcing one of his friends to chew him out. To top it off he was going to have to delve into some none too pleasant truths.

"Lieutenant Roberts, first of all I believe that the Commander should apologize to you so that I don't bring him up on conduct unbecoming charges." Jim looked from Bud to Harm.

"Sorry Bud. Lost my head for a second, I wasn't trying to hurt you." Harm extended his hand for Bud to shake.

"It's alright sir, I mean something must have really rattled you to get you so angry." Bud shook Harm's hand.

"Good. Now Commander Rabb, I thought you and I had this discussion when we were working on the Hiller case? When you did nothing after that conversation I naturally assumed that you'd made a decision, when you started dating my daughter I assumed you'd moved past it. Why is it setting you off Commander?" The colonel's eyes were telling.

"I don't know sir, something inside me just wanted to get out." Harm was being truthful, some all-consuming passion engulfed him and in that one instant, with a primal scream and violent action, he lashed out. "And for the record sir, your daughter and I broke up last night. Something about me being Navy and too old."

" I figured something like that was bound to happen. Well that certainly explains something of what happened. Commander, don't let it happen again and buy Lieutenant Roberts a coffee every morning for the next month. I think that punishment is more than suitable." Jim smiled at the confused looks on Harm and Bud's faces.

"Sir what are we going to tell the Admiral about the wall?" Harm asked as the three of them decided to move out of the office.

"We'll tell him Coster did it." Jim didn't even look back as he told Harm.

"We're going to lie to the Admiral, sir?" Bud sounded really nervous.

"Harm was Coster getting on your case?" Jim asked and Harm nodded in reply. "Could his irritations have contributed to what happened in there?" Once again Harm nodded. "See Lieutenant, it's detective Coster's fault." Jim tapped the young man on the shoulder as the walked over toward Bud's desk.

"Sir, isn't that lying?" Bud was still slightly nervous.

"Think of it like creative editing of the truth, Bud." Harm said as he sat on the edge of Bud's desk.

"Like this Lieutenant." Jim brought out his most authoritative voice to address the entire bullpen. "Did any of you see Commander Rabb get rather aggressive in his office just than?" A few nods and 'yes sirs' could be heard from the crowd. Jim leaned into Bud and lowered his voice. "That was the unedited truth; this is going to be the edited version." Raising his voice to his authoritative level again. "I'm sorry folks, I couldn't hear you over my Eagles' wings, did any of you see Commander Rabb get rather aggressive in his office just than?" This time a loud chorus of 'no sir' was heard from the crowd in the bullpen. "Good! You all have permission to secure for the day." With a sarcastic smile Jim turned back to his colleagues.

"Sir isn't that Improper Command Influence?" Bud's face was somewhat disapproving.

"He didn't give them an order Bud, he just reminded them of something they might have forgotten." Harm smiled, that was how the game worked.

"Alright, I have to get back to the clubhouse at Royal Oaks to have dinner with the Admiral, the SECNAV and the DCNO. Commander, Lieutenant, I think you two have had stressful days, why don't you join us?" Jim hadn't brought anything to work so he didn't need to pick up anything from his office.

"Sounds great, any non dead animal served at that place?" Harm laughed as the three of them made their way out the glass doors.

"There's a salad bar. What about you Bud? You up to it?" Jim looked at his friend who seemed overjoyed at the offer.

"Thank you sir." Bud smiled as he and Harm stepped on to the elevator.

"Mattoni! Make sure the office is all squared away before you leave would you?" Jim shouted back through the doors as he jumped on to the elevator. The three of them walked out into the parking lot, Harm was tossed the keys to Jim's car and went to pull it around as Jim and Bud stood out in front on the steps. Mac and Dalton came walking over; pretty much hand-in-hand and Mac noticed the two familiar faces.

"Bud! Jim! This is Dalton Lowne." Mac seemed excited to make the introductions. "Dalton, this is Lieutenant j.g. Bud Roberts," the two men shook hands. "And this is Colonel Jim Grant." Dalton extended his hand and Jim caught it in a knuckle-juggler handshake that made the civilian attorney wince with pain under the Marine Colonel's grip. Mac shot Jim a nasty glare as Dalton cringed a little.

"Sorry about that, sometimes I don't know my own strength, it was sure nice to meet you Mr. Lowne, Mac." Jim nodded at Mac as she and Dalton retreated into the building.

"Sir, don't you think that was kind of mean?" Bud couldn't believe that there was serious open hostility on the Colonel's part toward Dalton.

"Bud, I plan on being more than 'kind of mean' toward Mr. Lowne; I've seen Mac end up with the wrong kind of guy before and I sure as hell am not going to standby and watch it happen again." The Colonel's face was grim as Harm pulled the car around to wear they were standing.

Days later when Harm, Mac and Bud returned from their investigation of the missing F-14 the trained observer could notice Harm's eyes studying Mac just a little more intensely. Every time she started to look back at him he turned away or got the same look as a kid caught with his hand in the cookie jar. While working on a case with Colonel Grant the two men sat in Harm's office, each with their feet up on Harm's desk just started digging into the food in their respective cardboard boxes from the local Chinese restaurant.

"So, when did Mac let slip about her tattoo?" Jim didn't even seem fazed in asking this question he just went on eating. Harm, however, nearly choked.

"How did you know I found out?" Harm shot back, smiling like there was not tomorrow.

"You're looking at her different than you were before you left on that investigation. You're not looking at her like you're just checking her out, you're not looking at her like a lovesick puppy; you're looking at her like you're searching for something, logical conclusion is that you know about the tattoo." Jim was waving his chopstick around in an animated fashion as he made his point.

"Nice powers of deduction counsellor. So, you know where it is?" Harm was definitely interested in the answer.

"Yeah, keep in mind I actually had to see it to even find out she had a tattoo, much less had one there." Jim smiled and laughed as he dug into the box for more food.

"You've seen it! Where is it?" Harm was like a kid who found out that Santa Claus had visited during the night.

"I'm afraid I can't tell you where it is, Mac threatened me with bodily injury if I ever told anyone. You have to remember the only reason I found out was because I surprised Mac at her place in Okinawa one day after she'd just gotten out of the shower, scared her enough that she dropped her towel." Jim laughed and Harm's eyes grew wider.

"You mean you've seen Mac…naked?" Harm's surprise was evident.

"Yeah, like I said it was an accident, I was forced to apologize for a week." Jim took a drink of his tea.

"How was it? I mean come on, one guy to another." Harm's face was played up in anticipation.

"One guy to another. Fan-damn-tastic!" Jim said and the two men shared a roar of laughter. Outside Harm's office, Mac and Harriet stood at Harriet's desk watching the two men have their exchange in Harm's office. Nothing could be heard but with the blinds open the laughter and smiles were dead giveaways that they were not talking about the case.

"Every time those two talk I get nervous. I honestly never expected they'd get along, at least not like they have." Mac turned to Harriet.

"Why would you possibly get nervous?" Harriet's voice was teaming with innocence and naivety.

"Because the only thing that those two men have in common aside from typical guy things like sports, cars and work; is me." Mac had a red rising in her cheeks. "Jim knows things that I don't think I'll ever live down Harm knowing yet."

"What kind of things, ma'am?" Harriet's attention zoomed out off of the screen an focused in on Mac.

"Answers to some pretty embarrassing personal questions." Mac laughed as she watched Harm laugh so loud that he fell backward out of his chair. "I'd better get in there and get one of them out of there otherwise I may not be able to look Harm in the eyes again."

"Harm, the Admiral wanted to see you, me and Bud, something about the USS Reprisal." Mac poked her head through the office door.

"Go ahead; I got the Bennings case down. I noticed where you're looking for what you're trying to find, you're pretty close to where it is." Jim and Harm exchanged knowing looks over the discrete remark. Harm and Mac walked toward the Admiral's office, passing Tiner on their way in.

"So what exactly is it that you're looking for and where are you looking for it." Mac looked up at Harm suspiciously.

"Graffiti on Navy property." Harm responded stopping only a second to let Mac into the office before him; he cast a subtle glance down at her six.

"It's not there Commander, and besides, I'm not Navy property." She smiled at him and led him into the office by his tie.


	4. Tripping Over More Than Feet

A/N: Alright Shippers, you've been patient, I'll start indulging you. By the way, I love some of the original feedback I'm getting; commenting on my writing helps me become a better writer, so thanks!

"So how does it feel to have prevented World War Three?" Jim greeted Harm as he first entered the JAG bullpen after getting back from the Reprisal.

"All in a day's work." Harm kept walking, the Marine Colonel keeping pace with him every step of the way.

"Actually I was referring to Mac; I understand it was her handy work that uncovered who the traitor really was." Jim nudged his buddy in the arm with his elbow. "Do you squids always take the credit due to a hardworking Marine?"

"Yeah well it's not all Harm's fault; something has to feed that ego of his." Mac smiled as Harm took on a look of mock offence.

"Need I remind the two of you that I was the one who had to fly the F-14 with the psycho terrorist in the back seat?" Harm was trying to fend off the assault of the two Marines.

"I knew you'd find a way to get behind the stick. The free world is at stake and Harmon Rabb Jr. has to act on his overwhelming desire to fly." Mac gave him a less than serious annoyed look.

"At gun point? Trust me Mac that was not how I planned on getting into an F-14 on that trip." Harm laughed as the three of them made their way into Mac's office.

"So you were planning to get in an F-14 while we were on the Reprisal, Commander?" Mac sat on the arm of his chair in his office.

"Come on Mac you can't blame your favourite Flyboy for wanting a little time up in a Tomcat while the Captain had them strafing the bows of North Korean ships." Harm gave her his trademark smile, the one that made her want to re-think Dalton.

"Who says _you're_ my favourite Flyboy?" Mac's face was telling to anyone who knew her, while it was playful there was a hint of something else.

"You seeing some other flyboy on the side?" Harm shot back.

"No, but what makes you think I'd take any flyboy as a favourite?" Mac scooted a little closer on the arm of the chair.

"Did the two of you talk about anything special while you were on the Reprisal, maybe the heat of the situation…?" He trailed off trying to read the expressions on both of their faces. Both were shocked, surprised by what he was saying.

"No we didn't talk about anything special, why do you ask?" Mac was the first to come out with the words that were also running through Harm's head.

"Well I guess it's just that the two of you seem so…You know what why do I even bother?" Jim got up from the chair in front of Harm's desk. "Let me just say before I go that it amazes me that two people so smart can be so blind."

"Moody Marine Mister Mom this morning." Harm laughed as the realization dawned on him that Mac was a mere few inches from being parked in his lap.

"Harm, what you think he meant by 'special talks', 'heat of the situation 'and than that thing about us being blind?" Mac had moved out of the kind of flirty mode she'd been in all morning to something which had a bit more gravity.

"I'm sure it was nothing, he's got parent-teacher conferences tonight with some of David's teachers, maybe he's just a little on edge from all that." Harm added, feeling as though he'd dodged a bullet.

"Yeah, I'm sure." Mac seemed deflated, the humour, the happiness that had been there had drained. She went to pat him on the knee as she rose from her seat on the arm of the chair but she missed his knee and landed, rather unceremoniously in his crotch, striking him with enough force to cause him to wince. He doubled over out of the chair and on to the floor.

"You know Mac, if you wanted to cop a feel there are easier ways." Harm managed to gasp out loud enough for Mac to hear as lay on the floor in pain. Cop a feel? Is that what he thought she was doing? More importantly, is that what she'd done? She hadn't intended on it, she had only intended on giving him an encouraging pat on the knee. Than again, she had let her hand linger a second longer than it needed to be there.

"Harm I was not 'copping a feel', I was trying to give you a pat on the knee." Mac was insistent, not sure whom she was trying to convince any more.

"Aim not what it used to be Marine?" Harm smiled as he tried to get up off the floor. His smile put her at ease. "You know I'm going to be walking like I've got over-starched boxers all day, thanks to you."

"Come on Harm; let's get you up off the floor." Mac extended her arm to help Harm get up off the floor. Harm got up but came to his knees so quickly that he lost his balance and fell forward on top of Mac putting both of them in a rather compromising position on top of Harm's desk. It would be that moment that Bud Roberts chose to enter Harm's office.

"Sir I was just going over the crime scene reports that you had me analyze for the Bennings case and I…" Bud looked up see Harm on top of Mac on the desk, their faces mere inches apart. "I'm sorry….I…I…" Bud froze in his tracks. The two officers finally realized where they were and corrected their dress and deportment.

"I apologize for my clumsiness Mac; I'll try not to let it happen in the future." Harm, try thought he might have, did not look apologetic.

"It's alright Commander, equal payback for my little swat." Mac tossed him a playful if weak smile as she left his office.

"With all due respect sir, what was that?" Bud handed Harm the report.

"I wish I could tell you Bud." Harm looked longingly out into the bullpen as Bud told him what irregularities he had found in the crime scene report.

After forty-five minutes, Mac came running into Harm's office. "Harm, the Admiral wants to see us, some investigation that's come all the way down from the White House." She was enthused. "Something to do with the Medal of Honour?"

"White House? Medal of Honour?" Harm was trying to bring himself back to planet earth. Ever since earlier, images of her sprawled out on his desk seemed to find their way to him mind more and more frequently.

"Is there an echo in here? Now get your cute six over to the Admiral's office on the double sailor." Mac wanted to retract her last statement but she saw the smile grow on Harm's face and realized he'd heard every word.

"You really think it's cute, Mac?" He wasn't going to let her hear the end of it now.

"No, not really, I was just trying to get your attention. Now haul it on over to the Admiral's office, squid!" Mac lead the way out of the office and Harm followed behind, trying hard to keep his eyes on the floor, on the wall, anything but her. The two of them passed Petty Officer Tiner on their way into the Admiral's office.

"Commander, Major, glad you could finally make it. The President has nominated Lieutenant Curtis Rivers for the Congressional Medal of Honour for his actions in the extraction of an Undersecretary of State from Lebanon. You two will be going out to Coronado to investigate and find anything that might be particularly harmful to the Lieutenant's credibility as well as to find the obligatory two witnesses required for the nomination of the Lieutenant for the medal." The look on the Admiral's face told them that was all the information that they were to be given on the issue. With that the two of them picked up Bud on the way out of the office and headed off to conduct their investigation on one Lieutenant Curtis Rivers.

A few days later, they all returned from the investigation and were about to head off to the ceremony for the presentation of the Medal of Honour to Lieutenant Rivers. The Admiral, Bud and Harm were all wearing their Class As while Mac and Jim were contending with the various intricacies of Marine Mess Dress.

"You guys get to wear your Class As, why can't we?" Mac was trying to straighten the blue jacket.

"You have to look Navy for this one Marines and you look more Navy in blue than you do in green so get with it." The Admiral fired back in his most authoritative voice.

"Yes, but with all due respect sir, we're not Navy, we're the Marines, the best and we look our best in green." Jim was wrestling endlessly with the gold buttons of the black coat. "Damn starch." He muttered under his breath.

"We're not about to get into Navy-Marine rivalries Colonel, we're just going to go down to Arlington." The Admiral started toward the JAG doors.

"Fine, if I have to go I call shotgun." Jim tried to sound enthused and almost immature as he walked with his colleagues out of the office.

"Colonel don't you think that it would be more appropriate if the lady had the front seat?" The Admiral looked at him almost paternally.

"Who Mac? Mac's no lady; hell Harm acts more like a woman than Mac does!" Jim and the Admiral shared a laugh but Jim received friendly whacks on either shoulder from both Harm and Mac. "Hey! Don't hit me, I'm an old man."

"You're not that old, sir." Bud was trying to be complimentary.

"Bud, I'm over forty, which means that the hill is in my rear-view mirror." With a self-deprecating smile, he gave Bud a pat on the shoulder. "Hanging around with you young'uns should keep me young at heart though."

"I swear to god, Colonel if you start singing I'm going to…" The Admiral led the group of people across the parking lot to the car. The Admiral got in behind the wheel with Mac sitting in the shotgun seat' Bud, Harm and finally Jim all had to scrunch into the backseat. "Comfortable back there Commander?" The Admiral checked his mirrors.

"Hardly, sir." Harm tried to manoeuvre his shoulders into some semblance of a comfortable position.

"Good, now you boys won't squirm around while the Admiral drives." Mac tossed them a smile via her reflection in her vanity mirror.

"Thanks, Mom." Harm, sitting in the middle, tried pushing out his arms in either direction to get a little room. The Admiral put the car into drive and started the drive from Falls Church to Arlington.

"Admiral, Harm tells me you're quite the baseball aficionado." Jim figured that he had to do something to take his mind off of the fact that he was sandwiched between Harm and the door.

"Yeah, why do you ask Colonel?" The Admiral looked in the rear-view mirror.

"Well I know there's quite the local military league around here. Quantico's got a team, so does Norfolk, Andrews, Fort Meade, Bethesda and Pax River, why doesn't JAG field a team?" Jim's suggestion seemed to garner support from those in the car. "Come on Mac, you remember what those Saturday afternoons were like back in Arizona when me and Matt ran the team out there."

"Mac I didn't know you played baseball." Harm leaned into the front seat, after loosening the middle seatbelt.

"I wasn't on the team, I was an active spectator." Mac shot back, her eyes begging Jim not to divulge the actual story.

"Active spectator? That's certainly a diplomatic way of saying cheerleader." Jim laughed as he blurted out the sentence. A bright pink rose in Mac's cheek as she saw a smile come across Harm's face.

"You were a cheerleader Mac? Wouldn't have pegged this tough Marine as the cheerleading type." Harm smiled as Mac looked at him like she was trying to avoid slapping him.

"Well she didn't exactly volunteer for the duty. Every guy on the team had to have a female relative or their girlfriend on the cheerleading squad as a rule. Half the team threatened to quit if Mac wasn't put on the cheerleading squad as Matt O'Hara's contribution." The story caused a round of laughter from everyone in the car and an annoyed look from the Marine in the front seat.

"Did you guys win any games?" The Admiral's interest was peaked.

"Oh yeah, the sight of Mac in the cheerleading uniform did wonders for our morale not to mention what it did to distract the other team." Another round of laughter circulated through the men in the car as Mac tried to hide exactly how pink her face had become.

"Baseball team sounds like an excellent idea Colonel. Major MacKenzie, you'll be in charge of the cheerleading squad seeing as you seem to have experience in that sort of thing." The Admiral's amused smile had made a come back.

"But sir, I really think I could be of more use on the field." The thought of her coworkers seeing her in the cheerleading uniform was more than she was willing to stand.

"Come on Mac, admit it, you just don't want us to see you in cheerleading uniform." Harm teased her.

"That's right Commander, I'm afraid you won't be able to keep your eyes on the game, you could embarrass JAG." Mac teased right back, stunning Harm.

"Good comeback ma'am." Bud added from his spot behind the Admiral.

"Thank you Bud." Mac smiled and laughed when she realized that she had left Harm unable to return with some snappy comeback. "Nothing to say Commander?" In reality Harm was being filled in on exactly what the cheerleading uniforms were back in the Arizona days.

"Admiral, the Colonel has just filled me in on what the uniforms were back when these two were in Arizona and I think we should institute similar uniforms here." Harm turned toward the Admiral.

"Mr. Grant, exactly what were the uniforms in Arizona?" The Admiral had a look of caution on his face.

"Desert camouflage bikini top and mini-skirt." Jim replied with the widest smiled on his face. The Admiral seemed amused but was not about to make the suggestion that any personnel under his command be forced to wear that particular uniform.

"Tell you what Colonel, since the whole team was your idea, why don't I put you in charge of requisitioning uniforms for the team and the cheerleaders." The Admiral's smile had grown considerably in the past minutes.

"Aye aye, sir." With that the car pulled into Arlington National Cemetery and the five colleagues from JAG headquarters all made their way to the presentation ceremony. The day, the atmosphere, it all likely had something to do with being in Arlington. They had all watched the medal be presented to Lieutenant Rivers and after the ceremony had concluded, Mac, Bud and the Admiral had all found their way back to the car and immediately noticed that they were missing two people.

"Where's the Commander and the Colonel sir?" Bud looked up at the Admiral in anticipation of either an answer or a plan.

"Well unless I'm mistaken that's Commander Rabb over there, my guess would be that Colonel Grant will be along any minute." The Admiral's usually gruff paternalism seemed softened. Harm walked over to them, an introspective look in his eyes and the smallest of grins on his face.

"Hey sailor, where'd you run off to?" Mac's face was quizzical with undertones of concern.

"Just went to pay my respects to Seaman Rivers." Harm sounded sombre yet mature. "It got me thinking. Mac, what are you doing this afternoon, there's someone I want to introduce you to." Hesitantly he draped his arm across her shoulders as the two of them leaned up against the car.

"Rabb have you seen the Colonel anywhere?" The Admiral's voice sounded a little more like the Commanding Officer that they had come to know.

"No sir, after the ceremony I saw the Colonel walk off into the cemetery somewhere but I haven't seen him since." The Admiral took it upon himself to go out into the ceremony, he'd read the Colonel's service record, he had some idea where the latest addition to the JAG team likely was. On his way through the cemetery he looked down at tombstones from Nam, from Lebanon from a lot of the conflicts that he himself had laid witness to. The row of white tombstones seemed endless but in the middle of the row there was the squatting frame of a familiar Marine, right where the Admiral thought he'd be.

"You know, you should really inform your Commanding Officer before you go over the wall." The Admiral tried his best to sound authoritative but the compassion was evident.

"Sorry sir, it's been five years since I've been here. I always find myself coming back to thank them for something else. You've read my service record, there's no way in hell I should be alive right now. Lebanon, Panama, Liberia, Iraq, Somalia, Bosnia and god knows how many extractions and tactical assaults in Central and South America during the eighties. Every time I came back, I came here, to thank them." Jim forced back tears as he stared down at the three graves nearest him.

"It's a part of the job son, they tell us we have to go and we go and you always went. You did your duty Marine. A little help from above is necessary some times." The Admiral crouched down next to him.

"First Lieutenant Michael O'Grady USMC, killed at Chosin Reservoir, Korea, November 29th, 1950; Major David O'Grady USMC, killed at Chosin Reservoir November 29th,1950; Gunnery Sergeant Patrick Grant USMC, killed at Chosin Reservoir, November 29th, 1950. They were all uncles of mine, they died before I was born but they've protected me without ever knowing me, you know what's it like to have a Guardian Angel Admiral?"

"No." The Admiral's reply was stoic.

"It's something of a double-edged sword; you're glad to have them but it gnaws at you, to think that they had to die in order to become that Guardian Angel. When I was a young kid, my mother buried a poem at the side of her oldest brother's tombstone." Jim took his left hand and dug into the ground, he slowly pulled out a piece of laminated paper and handed it to the Admiral.

"That we, the dead, now fallen, lie/ Call our spirits unto the sky/ To those who fight beneath the cloud/ Our legacy's yours, make us proud. Andrea Grant, November 29th, 1960. You want another moment, son?" The Admiral was visibly moved by the words.

"No, I think I'll be okay. And Admiral?" Jim took the poem and placed it once again in its resting place buried at the side of the tombstone.

"Yeah." The Admiral was on his feet, once again looking down at the Marine,

"Thanks." The two old veterans stood next to each other and saluted the graves out of respect before walking through the cemetery back to the parking lot and their friends waiting by the car. They stood in a far off grove of trees for a second and watched the scene at the car in the parking lot. Harm, still with his arm wrapped around Mac's shoulders and Mac with her arm around Harm's waist were watching Bud explain something with some rather animated hand gestures.

"So do either of us know what's going on with those two?" The Admiral had that same paternal smile.

"Apparently Mac's dating Dalton Lowne. Which confuses me all to hell." It was nice for the Marine to talk with another vet rather than one of 'the kids' as he called them. "But with the way the two of them have been flirting recently, it just seems like more. I told Harm I only ever looked at one woman the way he looks at Mac. And I married that woman."

"What'd he have to say to that?" The Admiral seemed amused.

"Not a whole hell of a lot, there was really just a lot of stuttering and mumbling." The two men shared a laugh.

"Well keep me posted; if it goes beyond flirting. Has Lieutenant Roberts informed you of the betting pool?" The Admiral's question was not unanticipated.

"Yeah, he brought it up in the first one-on-one meeting I had with him. He told me that the office started it after the first time they played hooky together." Jim smiled as the two of them started working together. "I don't bet Admiral."

"Damn shame." The Admiral gave the younger man a pat on the back. As opposed to the drive to Arlington, the drive back to Falls Church was had in almost complete silence with the exceptional cough. The silence in the car was the antithesis of the questions being posed in the minds of the two senior attorneys who sat next to one another in the back seat. He looked into her eyes. 'There's so much I want to say to you, so much which exists only in here, so much which will for now, remain unsaid.' The thoughts raced in his head.

'God, why can't I talk to you? You amaze me everyday, everyday I peel away a little bit more of that protective layer and I'm amazed by the man in there. So why don't you let me in? Every time you push me away, a little bit of me fears you'll never draw me back. Can't you see you're pushing me to him? I can only try so much with you, to make you understand but you don't, do you?' She looked hopefully into his eyes, praying to see ignorance, if he didn't understand than there was hope. If he did understand, than it was rejection, something she didn't think she could take from him.

"We're back at the ranch folks!" Jim called from the front seat as the car came to a stop in the JAG parking lot. All of the people that had gone to the ceremony at Arlington were going their separate ways. The Admiral went back up to his office; Bud went to wait for Harriet to secure for the day; Jim got in his car and drove off leaving only Mac and Harm standing in the parking lot.

"So where are you going to take me sailor?" Mac looked up into his eyes and it brought a smile to her face.

"It's a secret." Harm's arm hesitantly moved to the small of her back as he guided her to the car. The drive in the car was marked by more stolen glances and silent thoughts as Mac noticed that they were nearing the National Mall. She'd been to Washington, she'd seen the sights, she didn't understand what he was doing where he was taking them. She was glad to be with him in that moment but she wasn't sure about exactly what he was doing. He'd exhibited a fair amount of jealousy when it came to her and other men in the last year, first with Jim, now with Dalton. But what kind of interest is it that spikes only when it's challenged? She thought.

They parked near the National Mall and got out of the car. Harm's hand returned to the place it had occupied at the small of her back as they went for a walk near the Mall. "Harm, you haven't said a word for quite a while, is everything okay?" Her concern evident.

"Shhh, Sarah, this is kind of important, at least to me." His tone was sombre.

"Harm, you're scaring me, I can count on one hand the number of times that you've ever called me Sarah." Her eyes wide with alarm.

"Mac, it's nothing to be afraid of, like I said I just wanted to introduce you to someone." He led her to the feet of the Vietnam Veterans' Memorial. The two of them walked silently, out of reverence, along the path in front of the memorial. Eventually they came to a familiar place to Harm and stopped. He turned toward the wall and ran his fingers over his father's name. Suddenly Mac realized she had peeled another layer away from the protective shell of the man who would never cease to amaze her.

"Hey dad, I brought a friend with me this time. I told you about her last year, Mac the Marine. Well dad she means even more to me this year, she's fast become my best friend and at this point she's the most important person in my life." He looked down into her eyes and saw them tearing up, he could feel her clinging to him with all that she was. "Dad, if you're up there, I know it's a lot to ask Dad, I know you look after me and I realize exactly how much of a full time job that is but, could you look after her too, I've never met anyone else who deserved a little help from the other side."

The tears that were welling up in her eyes were let loose and began to slowly trickle down her cheeks. It was the most touching thing that she'd ever seen any man do. She knew how much his dad meant to him. With recent events she even knew that Harm honestly didn't believe his father was dead, but the fact that he was willing to accept that possibility if only to help her made the gesture more touching.

"Harm, why?" They were the only words she could get out.

"We've been through a lot, Mac, I've wanted to do this since that close call on the Reprisal, I guess being at Arlington today just brought that idea back. I wanted to make sure that you knew that there was someone who was going to be there if, for some unforeseeable reason, I couldn't." His concern, even the elements of pain that traced his voice, they all made the moment something more than either was willing to admit.

She reached over to hug him and pulled him in close to her. "Thank you Harm, I can't tell you what this has meant to me." She didn't want to let him go, she couldn't think of anything else but him but she felt the hesitation, the tension in him. He felt her stomach rumble as she hugged him.

"Come on Marine; let's get you something you eat." The two of them walked peaceably back to the car and drove to a nearby Beltway Burger. They sat at a table in the restaurant, Mac gnawed on a burger and Harm poked feebly at the restaurant's poor excuse for a salad. "How can you eat here? I can feel my arteries slamming shut just sitting here."

"Lighten up Flyboy; you're just here to feed your favourite hungry Marine." She took an other bite of her burger and squirted ketchup all over Harm's salad. "Sorry about that."

"No, I think you might have actually improved it. It can't get any worse." He tossed her that smile he reserved only for her.

"Harm about today, what was it… I mean…besides the kindest, sweetest thing a man has ever done for me." She looked longingly into his eyes hoping he understood what she was trying to say.

"It was the right thing, for the right person at the right time. A show of undying support for my best friend because I know she's considering leaving JAG for the glorious life of civilian law." His words sunk Mac's heart, how she wished he had meant more.

"How'd you? I mean I never said anything." Mac looked into his eyes.

"You've been distant Mac at least at work, except for that morning right before the Rivers case, that was a little weird." They both laughed remembering that particular morning.

"Nothing's final Harm, I mean Dalton only told me yesterday that the partners at his firm wanted to make me an offer but they're about to argue a big case before the Supreme Court and I would need a real good reason to pass up an opportunity to be a part of that." It was a final plea, her attempt to make him understand that he could be that real good reason.

"Mac it sounds like a great opportunity for you; Woody Allen once said 'the heart wants what it wants' as long as you do what you what your heart wants, I'll support you." He smiled at her but he didn't see her expression lift. She wanted to scream 'my heart wants you!' at the top of her lungs but she couldn't find the words. For the rest of their 'dinner' the conversation was kept light, nothing that could bring the mood down was said as they sat in Beltway Burger eating lunch.

Eventually, they finished and went back to the car so that Harm could drop Mac off in Georgetown before heading back to his North of Union Station flat. "Hey Mac, if you do decide to join the dark side, expect me as a weekly visitor!" He called from the car as she walked up to the building.

"Why, you gonna miss me Squid?" She turned around to face the car.

"Just every time I go to work, Mac." He smiled as he turned the key.

"I wouldn't have it any other way Flyboy." She smiled as she opened the door to her building.

"Either would I Mac." With that the car drove down the street and out of sight.


	5. Impact

"Colonel, Commander, take a seat." The Admiral watched his two senior staffers come to attention in front of his desk before sitting in their chairs. "There was an incident with a helicopter out at Twenty-Nine Palms Marine Corps Base. I need you two out at Twenty-Nine Palms ASAP to investigate this." The two men looked at one another, both having the same question running through her head.

"Sir, don't you normally assign Major MacKenzie to investigations with Lieutenant Commander Rabb? Not to second guess your judgement sir but in the time I've been assigned here I've seen the two of them accomplish things I would have assumed impossible of two attorneys." The Colonel's question got and immediate reaction from the Admiral.

"Colonel, I don't take kindly to my officer's questioning my orders, Major MacKenzie is doing work for which she is better capable. You have been assigned to this case because you're a Marine and because the CO at Twenty-Nine Palms, a Colonel Ron Barrett is an old friend of yours who will likely give you information a little easier than responding to only a Navy man, understood Colonel?" The Admiral looked sternly at the Marine before him.

"Aye, aye sir." The Colonel gave him a small nod.

"Good, dismissed." The Admiral gave them an acknowledging wave before sending them on their way. The two men walked out of the Admiral's office and past Petty Officer Tiner on their way into the bullpen. Mac walked up to the pair of them, it was rare that either of them were in the office without her also being called and it was especially rare for both of them to be in there without her.

"What did the Admiral want to see the two of you about?" She approached Harm, ever since that day at the Wall; she'd been seeing a lot of Harm, at his apartment, at her apartment, just about anywhere.

"The Admiral is sending Jim and I to investigate a Helo crash out at Twenty-Nine Palms today. The CO out at Twenty-Nine Palms is an old friend of Jim's so the Admiral thinks we might be able to get information a little easier and expedite the investigation. Both of us tried to get you on the case Mac, the Admiral just wasn't hearing it." Harm realized that she seemed a little confused.

"First he's got me doing rookie work, now he's giving investigations away that you and I always do together. I'm starting to wonder what exactly I did to anger him." Mac was taken aback when Harm reached out and lightly stroked her right shoulder.

"It'll be okay Mac; like the CAG told me once 'everything in life is like a kidney-stone, it'll pass eventually'." He was rewarded with the smile that he was going for.

"How can you do that? You always manage to make me smile, even when I should only be feeling anger, you make me laugh." She sounded so tender, so soft in that moment. Seizing the moment, he raised his left hand to cup her cheek.

"That's because I like seeing you smile, Sarah." He smiled at her. If he only knew what he was doing to her, how he was tearing her between a career move and him. Every instinct in her body told her to seize the moment, to seize him and never let go, but she found her feet firmly anchored in place.

"Thanks Harm." She did reach for his arm but he hesitated and retracted it.

"Rabb! Get your six in gear! You, Bud and I got a transport to catch!" Jim called from across the bullpen. Harm ran to his office to pick up a few things and across the bullpen his two travel companions were taking part in an interesting conversation.

"Lieutenant, listen closely because I'm only going to say this once. I'd like a place in the pool, this Friday for fifteen dollars." Jim kept looking in the direction of his friends as he gave the order under his breath.

"Sir, Commander Mattoni has this Friday. I can give you Saturday?" Bud looked hopefully up at his superior officer.

"Bud, what insignia does Mattoni wear?" Jim couldn't believe he had to go through this again.

"Gold oak leaves sir." Bud answered innocently and slightly confused.

"And what insignia is on my shoulders, Bud?" The Colonel's tone was joking and his expression was humorous as the young Lieutenant seemed to finally get his drift.

"Friday it is sir, I'll just book Commander Mattoni over both days on the weekend that should make it up to him." Bud smiled and quickly wrote down the Colonel's order. Harm caught up to them as they were about to embark on their way out of the glass JAG doors.

"You guys weren't about to leave without me were you?" Harm laughed as he caught up to his friends.

"No, we were just going to stand out in front of the elevator while the Lieutenant told me a rather humorous anecdote about other times when you've given Major MacKenzie goo-goo eyes." Jim smiled and Bud looked like a deer in headlights as Harm tossed him one of those 'oh really?' looks.

"Sir…I wasn't…I mean the Colonel and I were just talking about…" Bud was stammering and tossing Jim a few pleading looks.

"At ease Lieutenant, I've already told you you're pushing the warranty on that tongue of yours." The three officers got on the waiting elevator and they were soon on a plane to Twenty-Nine Palms. The flight was long; Harm and Bud enjoyed it more than their Marine counterpart.

"Not enjoying the flight, Colonel?" Harm seemed amused by the sickened expression on Jim's face.

"I'll leave the flying to you Commander and you can leave jungle rescue missions to me, alright?" There was a small trace of laughter in the Colonel's voice.

"I don't know Jim; I might have some experience to rival you in that area. The name Francis Stryker mean anything to you?" Harm's tone was one of light inquisition.

"Stryker was one of my first missions as a Force Recon officer, when the government heard he was going after POWs in Laos and North Vietnam they wanted to get him the hell out of there, so they sent in the best. You been peaking in my service record Commander?"

"No sir, I went on a mission with him to rescue my father who I believed was being held by the Vietnamese after the war." Harm said as a member of the flight crew came back to tell them they were about to land.

"As noble a purpose as that is Commander, going on a mission with Stryker in those days was a good way to get yourself killed." The ramp door opened when the plane had come to a complete stop and the three officers walked out of the plane and on to the tarmac at Twenty-Nine Palms. The CO had come out in a jeep to meet the officers personally.

"Ron Barrett you old Jarhead I can't believe they're still letting you man a post, I thought for sure that they'd at least give you a cane." The two birds shook hands like the old friends they were.

"Jim Grant! I thought the Pentagon issued an order that kids were supposed to be kept away from small objects that they could swallow like silver eagle shoulder insignia." The two shared a laugh over their jokes.

"Ron, scuttlebutt is you've got a downed bird that collided with something out in the desert." Jim and his old war buddy walked down the runway talking like the old days.

"That's how it looks Jim, damnedest thing I've ever heard of. Hell of a courageous pilot though, managed to bring the chopper down and save everyone but himself."

"You gonna recommend him for a posthumous DFC?" Jim's question brought Harm's interest into the conversation.

"I've thought about it." After Colonel Barrett finished his sentiment Harm cleared his throat.

"Oh Ron, these are my two colleagues for this investigation. Two of the best the Navy has to offer, Lieutenant Commander Rabb and Lieutenant j.g. Roberts." Colonel Barrett shook hands with the two Navy officers.

"I see you're a pilot Commander." Colonel Barrett was blunt.

"Yes sir." Harm was trying to get a feel for who Colonel Barrett was.

"Good, let's hope that a Marine and a pilot will be able to tell me straighten up what happened out there that night." With that the four officers piled into a jeep and headed back toward the base.

Within the hour, the JAG team was out at the crash site scrounging around for whatever evidence they could find. "Sir, would you look at this?" Bud picked up a shiny piece of what appeared to be some kind of fibre-glass.

"What is it Harm?" Jim was standing on the other side of the crash site.

"It's a piece of something; my guess would be that it's a piece of whatever hit the Helo. We'll know more when we can do some testing on it." The two men shared understanding looks and continued to sort through the wreckage as two vehicles pulled up to the scene.

"Gentlemen. Special Agent Palmer DSD, here to investigate the crash of the helicopter." The man walked up to Harm and Jim who stood side-by-side between the DSD agents and the scene. "This crash is no longer JAG jurisdiction." Jim walked up to Palmer and looked at his badge.

"The hologram on your ID is outdated by three months." Jim observed.

"We're not moving from this crash site unless you've got an order that can force us." Harm fired back. Palmer reached into his jacket and produced a congressional order. Harm ripped it from his hands. "What do we do now?" He looked over at Jim.

"This order had to be issued by the House Armed Services Committee. You call Congresswoman Latham and I'll call Congressman Drexler. We'll see if they actually issued the order." Harm and Jim both pulled out cell phones and proceeded to dial the respective numbers. After a few minutes of phone conversation, the JAG officers huddled again. "Scott Drexler says the order was never voted on."

"Bobbi Latham just told me the same thing."

"So either they're both really trying to spread manure on this in hopes that something beautiful will grow or…"

"Or these guys aren't DSD. I'll pocket this object in case we need it but I think we should get back to the base and make sure we have jurisdiction." Harm got a maniacal smile.

"Damn fine idea Harm. Gunny!" Jim called for the Gunnery Sergeant in the detachment of men Colonel Barrett had given them to guard the site. "Gunny, the Lieutenant, the Commander and I have to go back to the base and square up a few legal loopholes." Than Jim proceeded to raise his voice so that Palmer could hear him. "If even one of those men over there get near the wreckage, shoot them!"

"Yes, sir!" The Gunny's reply came enthusiastically which brought a smile to all the officer's faces. With that the officers headed back to the base while the Gunny had his men at the ready walking the perimeter around the crash.

(A/N: I hate doing this for two reasons: a) I think it makes me a weaker writer and (b) I think it makes this chapter seem like an episodic rewrite, which though it sort of is, I don't like it. **Skip to Scene After Harm is caught trespassing.**)

"Gentlemen, I've had calls coming in from Washington all morning telling me to send you back there. There have been numerous calls to put you on the next transport out of here." Colonel Barrett did his best to sound his most authoritative.

"Sir, we have reason to believe that there's something hidden at the Bradenhurst Corporation, something that collided with your helicopter that night and that what ever it is, it's being covered up." Harm looked up at the two birds whose hard looks suddenly softened.

"Gentlemen, the next transport is full, there won't be another until 1000 tomorrow." With that the three JAG officers came to attention in front of Colonel Barrett before leaving his office.

"Harm, I'm disappointed with you. Not for trespassing, it's exactly what you should've done. I'm disappointed that you didn't take me along. If you'd a had a Force Recon Marine with you, you never would've gotten caught. I trust you've already got a plan for how you're going to get back in there tonight?" The middle-aged Marine looked at his friend expectedly.

"Actually yeah. I've got the skeletal details all worked out but I'm going to need a little help executing it, you two up for it?" Harm looked at Bud than over at the Colonel.

"Hell yeah!"

"Yes, sir." Bud looked slightly less enthused than the Marine on Harm's left.

"Good, now here's the plan…" Harm went on to explain the plan to his fellow JAG officers. "You think you can secure us some Desert Cammies from the Supply Sergeant, Colonel?"

"Shouldn't be a problem Harm, the may say 'Marines' on the chest though." Jim nudged Harm in the arm.

"Ah, I guess it'll have to do." With that the three of them slipped into their temporary office for the duration of the day until night fell and they would once again venture out into the desert.

Harm and Jim slipped out of the jeep and quietly made their way across the sand to a place near the gate to the compound. Bud drove off and set the explosion outside the gate just like the plan called for him to. Then he drove off as the guards on watch at the Bradenhurst gate opened the gate of the compound to investigate the explosion. The two officers exploited the open gate to make their way into the compound.

"That's never a good sign." Jim whispered as he and Harm threw themselves down on the sand once they saw a set of headlights coming down the road from the main building. "When the entrance is easy, the exit is usually a bitch."

"You don't need twenty-one years of Force Recon experience tell you that." They both got to their feet and started to once again make their way across the desert to the main building. They were almost to the main building when Harm stopped moving, he heard the same noises, felt the same atmosphere that he had felt the night before when he and Bud had followed the jet into the compound.

Jim stopped when he noticed that Harm wasn't moving alongside him any more and he looked back to see his Navy friend standing under what appeared to be some kind of stalled aircraft. When he saw the lights he made a mad dash for his friend. "Rabb, get out of there!" He tackled his friend to the sand as the pulse his the desert behind them.

"Thanks." Harm winced as he realized the Marine's elbow had nailed him square in the gut as they fell to the sand.

"Don't mention it. Just don't do it again." The two them got up and started once again toward the building.

"We had better get there fast; my guess is that plane was their way of signalling the welcoming party." Harm was actually starting to sound like a recon man, at least in the ears of his friend. The two of them quickly navigated the remainder of the desert and were soon standing against the building. The speed with which the Bradenhurst security teams had left the building to go find the two of them out in the desert mean that a side door to the hangar was open.

"More easy entrances?" Harm looked back as each of them pulled their side-arms and went through the door. There were a few technicians working around the plane but they didn't seem to notice the military personnel in their midst. An alarm was raised to alert them that there was a security breach and the technicians scrambled up the stairs and out of the hangar.

"Don't grab anything bigger than your hand, we need proof of whatever this thing is and proof that it exists." Jim whispered as the two of them dispersed looking for some proof of the aircraft. Harm pulled a pen out of his breast pocket and pressed the clip several times getting pictures of the plane. "James Bond issue?" Jim asked as he folded up a set of blueprints and stuffed them in his pants pocket.

"Pen camera, I got it from the Intel officer back at the base." Harm slid the pen back into his breast pocket and picked up a few floppy disks from the desk and once he's seen an engineer slide in the floppy drive on the computer. "You got evidence?"

"Yeah, let's get the hell out of here before they figure out where we are." Jim and Harm were about to dash up the stairs and navigate their way to the proper exit for an escape. Security personnel came bursting through the door that the technicians had left through.

"Well so much for leaving before they find us." Harm and Jim ran toward the door that they had used to enter as shots rang out behind them. "We've got to get a jeep or a car or something, there's no way we can out run these guys across the desert in the day." Harm noticed that the sun was cresting the dunes in the distance.

"What I wouldn't give to have Matt O'Hara and his chopper right now." Jim complained as the heat began to become apparent.

"There's an open truck across the parking lot, if we can get to it without getting shot, we might actually be able to get the hell out of here." Harm tried to catch his breath.

"Lead on MacDuff." The two men sprinted across the parking lot and into the truck. "You drive, you're the pilot."

"You shoot, you're the Marine." Harm hotwired the car and gunned it out of the parking lot. The Bradenhurst security teams were hot on their tail. Harm was pushing the truck as fast as he could, he was topping out near 100mph.

"This baby purrs just like the General Lee!" Jim shouted as he hung his torso out the passenger side window, sunglasses on and wind whistling through his hair.

"Well keep ol' Roscoe of our tail then Luke!" Harm laughed as he pushed the truck in excess of one hundred miles per hour and he pulled his friend back into the cab as they broke through the gate of the compound.

"Yeehaw!" Jim cried as he turned of the safety and loaded another magazine in his gun. Hanging himself out the passenger side window Jim prepared for another round of battle in the desert. Shots were being fired in all directions, but the only accurate shots were being fired from the truck with the JAG officers in it. Jim's service pistol rang out through the desert air as his shots put one of the security vehicles out of service by blowing up the engine.

"Nice shootin' Luke!" Harm yelled as he took the chase off the road and into the desert.

"Thank ya, Bo!" Jim shouted back. The Bradenhurst agents were now taking deliberate aim at the wheels of the truck but the Marine Colonel responded by changing his target from the agents' vehicles to the agents themselves. He managed to take down two before their shots finally took out one of the rear wheels on the truck and grind the vehicle to a screeching halt. The two men got out of the vehicle, their guns drawn and ready. "Looks like we're about to have a gun fight in Hazzard County cousin."

The Bradenhurst agents had their guns at the ready as well; the odds were at about thee to one, well within the realm of capability for the two officers. Palmer was out first, he tried to stand toe to toe with Harm. "Give me it, Commander!" Palmer demanded.

"What?" Harm looked stoically and indignantly down on Palmer.

"You know damn well what!" Palmer punched Harm in the face but the same arm that it Harm was soon the recipient of a bullet to the shoulder thanks to Jim's gun. Palmer fell to the ground screaming in pain. He rolled over and retrieved his gun with his other hand. "I'm authorized to use deadly force, don't you two understand that!"

"You haven't got the balls Palmer!" Harm came back as he got to his feet.

"You want to play chicken with your life Commander?" Palmer pressed his gun to the middle of Harm's chest. Jim had to keep his gun pointed at the other five agents but always kept Harm in his peripheral.

"You couldn't do it Palmer; you're a little man hiding behind that penis enhancement of a weapon." Harm's jaw was set firm.

"Oh I could do it Commander." Palmer seemed to be wavering slightly, perhaps from the blood-loss, more than likely from Harm's words.

"You and what army Palmer?" Harm's eyes were aflame with hatred for the man holding a gun to him.

"Me and my security team, Commander." Palmer's words seemed lacking in conviction. As the tensions rose, three Marine humvees came over the dunes and interrupted the scene. "And just who the hell are they?" Palmer asked Harm, his voice dripping with sarcasm.

"My security team, Palmer." Harm smiled as Colonel Barrett got out of his humvee and approached the scene all the weapons were lowered.

"What the hell is going on here?" Barrett's tone was demanding.

"Sir, this man has articles in his possession that are rightfully my property." Palmer was posturing.

"Colonel, the evidence I have with me proves that the Bradenhurst Corporation was responsible for the crash of your Helo that night." Harm was self-assured.

"I am taking Commander Rabb and Colonel Grant into my custody along with any and all articles on their persons." Barrett was stoic as he got between Palmer and Harm. Colonels Grant and Barrett started to walk back to the humvees but Harm hung back and had his fist meet Palmer's nose once with great force.

"Sorry sir, I owed him that." Harm tried to look innocent as he sat in the backseat of a humvee next to Bud. Colonel Barrett looked over at Colonel Grant and the two of them laughed.

"And we get the bad reputation." Barrett said as he motioned for the humvees to head back to the base.

"Yeah but to be fair Ron, we did beat the shit out of that platoon of Rangers on our way home from Somalia." The officers all shared a laugh as they headed back to the base.

1500 ZULU  
JAG HEADQUARTERS  
FALLS CHURCH, VIRGINIA

"Unbelievable! One dead security agent, two wounded. Two destroyed vehicles! Who the hell do the two of you think you are?" The Admiral was sufficed to say unpleased with the actions of his officers.

"Sir, we fired only when fired upon and sought out the truth for the purpose of serving justice, exactly what a good JAG officer is supposed to do." Harm elected to speak.

"What the hell am I going to do with the two of you! Congress wants to give you a medal for proving that certain military powers bypassed their authority and the SECNAV wants me to let the pair of you fry on a stake." The Admiral threw himself down in the chair behind his desk.

"Sir, Congresswoman Latham and Congressman Drexler are here to see you sir." Tiner's voice was welcomed by both of the investigators who were both in the middle of the worst dressing down of their careers.

"Send them in Tiner." The Admiral ordered as he rubbed his temples. The door opened wide to reveal two congresspersons in their usual suits carrying their briefcases. "Nice to see you Congresswoman Latham, Congressman Drexler." The Admiral had the biggest fake smile on his face.

"Admiral, Scott and I, rare though it is that we agree on anything, are here because Congress has taken a very hard look at what happened out in the desert and we've come to the conclusion that these two officers acted in the best interest of their country. At this moment a petition by Congress has been forwarded to the President to pardon these two officers for any actions that they might have taken in the investigation and the President even believes that some kind of commendation may be in order for these two men." Bobbi Latham was forceful in her presentation of her case.

"I see. What do you suggest I do Congresswoman? I can't very well have my people turn into John Wayne every time the mood strikes them." The Admiral's voice was almost condescending.

"What ever disciplinary action you deem necessary for their evasion of the chain of command in dealing with the issue should be appropriate, Admiral." Scott Drexler stepped forward. "However, congress would like to request that they only be punished for evading proper channels in the course of their investigation."

"Agreed. Lieutenant Commander, Colonel, the two of you will report at 0900 every Saturday morning until the New Year for filing duties. To wit you will also forfeit six weeks pay. " The Admiral tossed the two of them a stern look.

"That seems appropriate Admiral, now if you'll excuse me; I have to get back to Washington to vote on a bill. You can keep Scott, the less Republicans we have on the floor for this one, the better." Bobbi turned on heel and walked out of the office with Scott fast on her heels. When the door slammed, the Admiral got to his feet again.

"It took an act of Congress, the support of both Democrats and Republicans and a Presidential pardon to keep the two of you out of serious trouble on this one. I just have one question for the two of you." The Admiral looked self-satisfied as he sat on the edge of his desk.

"And what would that be sir?" Harm's smile was playing on his face as he anticipated the question.

"If you two really screw up next time, will I actually get to meet God? Because he'll be the only person able to keep me from throwing both of you in the brig and melting down the key." The Admiral looked from Harm to Jim and then back to Harm. "Dismissed." The two men snapped to and then turned on heel and left the Admiral's office.

Bud and Harriet were standing together in the bullpen, the scuttlebutt was vicious today, it had set the whole mood, there was no escaping it, it was like a dark storm cloud looming over head. Harm walked to the elevator, he was going to go down and walk the grounds to clear his head. Jim went straight to his office and threw himself into his chair as a sort of catharsis. He put his feet up on his desk and draped his cover over his face to make it look like he was sleeping.

Mac had gone into the Admiral's office; every one in the office seemed to know what was going on. It had every one a little tense but it had her closest friends depressed. After a few minutes Mac walked out of the Admiral's office, the first people she saw were Bud and Harriet.

"Do you have to do this ma'am?" Bud's eyes were pleas.

"No Bud, I don't have to but I want to." She looked unsure but somewhat happy.

"I'm sure going to miss you ma'am this place won't be the same without you." Bud tried to muster a smile but couldn't.

"I'm a civilian now Bud, you'd better start calling me Sarah." She tried to get a smile from him.

"I don't think I can ma'am." With that Bud seemed to detach himself from the conversation.

"Have either of you seen Commander Rabb?" It was Mac's turn for her eyes to become silent pleas for help.

"No Ma'am." Harriet's voice was little more that a removed squeak. Mac turned away from her friends to the now familiar Marine green lump parked behind a desk across the bullpen from her.

"You always did find it hard to come back from a mission and delve into the paper work." Mac tried to make him laugh or at least pull his cover off his head. He did neither.

"You know Mac; I've done things in my life that I've regretted after I've done them. Your uncle always used to tell me I should've known better." The voice was loud enough to be heard but it was still somewhat muffled by the cover.

"Don't make me regret this please. I want to do this. I…I…" She looked at him as he removed the cover from his face. The boyish playfulness that she'd seen since she known him wasn't there. There was wisdom in its place now. She closed the door behind her as she entered the office.

"You, Sarah MacKenzie, are a conundrum. There are times when I can look at you and see strong, intelligent person you've become. But there are times like now when I look at you and see the same scared, angry girl who came out to the Rock to dry out all those years ago. You never ran from your problems, you never took the easy road, you always prized the just and the right above all else. You've stopped doing that, Mac." He looked at her like a mentor would a student.

"Damn it, why can't you just let me be! You always tried to save me; you could never just let me go. Every time I left and something happened you were still right there to save me, I don't need you to save me any more!" Her frustration wasn't all meant for him, but he was the nearest target.

"Mac, you're a Marine by nature. Eventually, whatever materialistic wool Dalton Lowne has pulled over your eyes will lift and you'll see all that's happened and what will you do than?" Jim looked up from relaxed position. He had hit it like guided missile, right on the one uncertainty that was gnawing at her. What if she got in too far to come back? Dalton would never be Harm, the firm might never be JAG, all these questions that had plagued her mind as she tried to sleep the night before were coming back.

"You know, you've known me the longest, you're one of the people closest to me, I thought at least you'd be happy for me." Her face was laced with hurt.

"I am happy for you Mac. My worry is that all this happened to fast and you didn't really think about it, all I'm trying to do is make sure you understand. Besides, if I wasn't happy for you would I be throwing your Dining Out at McMurphy's next Friday night?" Her favourite reassuring smile decorated his face as he got out from behind the desk and wrapped her in a big bear hug.

"I'm really going to miss you Big Jim." It was the first time since he'd been at JAG that she used Matt O'Hara's nickname for him.

"I'm going to miss you too Mac the Knife." He smiled and let her dry her tears with the tie on his uniform, it was the first time he'd used her Arizona nickname since he's been assigned to JAG. She released herself from the hug and stood back from him, those familiar hazel eyes were dull again; there had been a familiar light in them since he'd returned to JAG but it was extinguished once again.

"McMurphy's next Friday night right?" She looked up at him, a weak smile on her face. He merely nodded and she made her way out of the bullpen and over to the elevator. He, for his part, buckled and walked over to the Admiral's office, completely ignoring Tiner he just knocked on the door.

"Enter." The Admiral's gruff voice came through the door. Jim opened the door to find that the Admiral had read his mind. A bottle of bourbon was open on the desk and the Admiral had his glass half full, feet kicked up, indulging in the drink.

"Room for another old war-horse?" Jim threw himself into the chair facing the Admiral and undid his Marine green jacket.

"I was wondering when you were going to come walking through that door, Jim." The Admiral slid a second glass across the desk.

"Since we're on a first name basis, thanks AJ." Jim poured his drink. "Why'd you let her do it?"

"She came in here and tossed me some bull-feathers line about 'long-term career goals' and 'spreading her wings'. I figured she was trying to convince herself more than me so I took her resignation and slid it into my desk." The Admiral let out a small laugh.

"You're going to keep it until she runs out of leave days aren't you?" Jim's eyes were stoic as both men leaned up and stared at the painting of Admiral Burke.

"That's the plan, when do you think she'll be back?" The Admiral looked over at his drinking companion.

"The second Harm's in trouble." Jim never took his eyes off the painting of Burke and the two men sat there in a companionable silence.

Out in the parking lot Sarah MacKenzie was making what she thought was her last exit from JAG headquarters. She looked around the busy courtyard, when she reached the drive she looked around for the familiar sight of Dalton's Porsche but she didn't see it. "Trying to sneak away without saying goodbye Major?" It was a voice she'd wanted to hear. She turned to her left to see Harm leaning up against a wall.

"I prefer good luck." She walked up to him.

"Good luck, it's been a pleasure serving with you." He made an attempt at a smile.

"Commander…Harm, I know you probably feel betrayed, there are so many things I need to say, to explain myself." She started but felt her resolve weakening.

"No you don't, I understand, I may not like it but I'm happy for you. I mean hell, it's not like you're going to Afghanistan, you're taking a job in Washington right? We'll probably be fighting each other in court next week." He'd lied so many times in that sentiment he could swear he felt his nose grow.

"I'd like that." The tears in her eyes threatened to spill.

"That's because you're a masochist…." He smiled but he saw her cry and his heart broke all over again. "Hey, don't cry. You start crying…people see Marines cry it'll give the Corps a bad name." He was holding back his own tears.

"Permission to hug the Commander?" She was trying to compose herself.

"Do you even have to ask?" He reached out and wrapped her in a hug, a last chance for him to try and hold on to the only thing he held dearly.

"I'm going to miss you Harm." Her tears fell on his chest.

"I'm going to miss you so much Sarah." Had he meant the emphasis the way it had come across? Yes but would she take it that way? "Your ride is here, nice car." Dalton's Porsche pulled into the drive.

"Yeah, but it's no Tomcat." She looked up at him, hoping praying to God that he would say something.

"I'm losing my RIO, I don't think I could look at a Tomcat again." It was a bold statement to be sure, but that flight out at NAS Fallon was a real bonding moment for them.

"Harm, what is this?" She looked up at him, he's said something, it just wasn't enough for her to be sure.

"I don't know." He admonished. "And you deserve someone who does." With that he walked back up to the JAG office. Mac watched him leave and reluctantly got in the car to drive off with Dalton.

McMURPHY'S TAVERN

WASHINGTON D.C

THE NEXT FRIDAY

The Admiral, Harm and Jim all walked into the bar together, bringing with them the two Irish JAG officers that were over here on a joint investigation with Falls Church. Jim walked over to the bar and pulled the bartender aside. "Did you set up everything like I asked you?" The bartender merely nodded in reply. "Good man!" The five men sat down at the bar and ordered up their drinks and sat at the bar. A few minutes later Bud and Harriet came walking in to the bar and the party was moved to a large table.

After Bud and Harriet, Mattoni and his wife arrived and Tiner came in soon after them. Mac and Dalton were the last two people to arrive at the tavern that night. They took a seat at the table and Harm made the necessary introductions. "Mac, this is Lieutenant Commander Padraig Flanagan and Lieutenant Seamus O'Neill. They're doing an investigation with us this week and when we told them we were going to a tavern tonight for a dining out…"

"We told him that we wouldn't miss a chance to drink with Yanks for the world. Two stouts over here please!" Seamus O'Neill was a wiry young man. Commander Flanagan was a little more reserved, it didn't help his outgoingness that he was involved in a conversation with Colonel Grant. In fact, the Admiral, Colonel Grant and Commander Flanagan seemed to converse amongst themselves most of the time the rest were having open conversation and munching down on pub fare.

Once the fries and burgers had been downed, Commander Flanagan rose to his feet to address the crowd. "Alright quiet down you gobs! When were invited to this dining out we felt a little out of place having shared nothing with the Major at all while she was in the military. Well when we found out her last name hailed from our own beloved Eire we decided on what we could contribute to the night. With the help of Colonel Grant, we plan on providing a little music for your dinner and dancing enjoyment for the rest of the evening. Jimmy, Seam get on up to the stage with me!"

As Jim walked passed Harm's chair he passed Harm a cocktail napkin with some writing on it. "What should we start with boys?" Jim stated as he got up and placed the guitar around his neck.

"What would you say to a little 'Heave Away' Colonel?" Seamus looked him in the eye. Seamus took his place in front of one of the microphones, Jim was in front of the other one while he had his guitar over his shoulders. Flanagan picked up his fiddle and the house drummer took his place behind the kit at the back of the stage.

Back at the table Harm opened the napkin that Jim had passed to him. _'Dance with her, lad. You know you want to.'_ Harm smiled and looked across the table into Mac's eyes. Just then the band kicked up, the bass drum and the guitar first were soon joined by the fiddle. "Hey Mac, you wanna dance?" Harm asked from across the table, immediately catching the attention of Dalton Lowne and Admiral Chegwidden.

"Do you know how, I mean it's jig." Mac called back trying to make herself heard over the music.

"I don't care, let's try anyway." The two of them got up from the table and headed out on to the floor as an Irish voice came over the microphone:

_Come get yer duds in order, cause we're bound to cross the water_

_Heave Away! Me jollies, Heave Away!_

_Come get yer duds in order for we're bound to leave tomorrow _

_Heave Away! Me jolly boys, we're all bound away_

Harm and Mac had their arms intermeshed and were actually executing some pretty fancy footwork that in no way looked like a jig but neither of them seemed to care.

_Sometimes we're bound for Liverpool, sometimes we're bound for Spain_

_Heave Away! Me jollies, Heave Away!  
But now we're bound for Ol' Saint John's where all the girls are dancin'_

_Heave Away! Me jolly boys, we're all bound away_

Harm and Mac looked happier making fools out of themselves than anyone else would've thought possible. They looked happy together, like they belonged together. They exchanged looks that made the Admiral and the Colonel very happy that they had set this in motion.

_Now it's farewell, Maggie darling, for it's now I'm going to leave you_

_Heave Away! Me jollies, Heave Away!  
You promised me you'd marry me, but how you did deceive me _

_Heave Away! Me jolly boys we're all bound away_

Jim up on stage and strumming away at his guitar tossed Dalton a maniacal look which Lowne caught only to respond with a great deal of worry. His gaze returned to his girlfriend who was having the time of her life…with another man.

_I wrote me love a letter and I signed it with a ring_

_Heave Away! Me jollies, Heave Away!_

_I wrote me love a letter I was on the 'Jenny Lind'_

_Heave Away! Me jolly boys we're all bound away _

At this point the guitar and the fiddle broke away from the rest of the band and traded of in a duel of solos. Neither Harm nor Mac seemed to realize that the vocals had stopped and with each step more of their bodies came into constant contact with the other. Eventually the solos stopped and all the instruments stopped instead replaced with rhythmic clapping to accompany the vocals. "Alright you gobs! Let's all give'r a Heave Away along with the band!" Seamus called into the crowd as the clapping continued.

_Sometimes we're bound for Liverpool, sometimes we're bound for Spain_

_Heave Away! Me jollies, Heave Away!  
But now we're bound for Ol' Saint John's where all the girls are dancin'_

_Heave Away! Me jolly boys we're all bound away_

When the crowd had chanted 'Heave Away' along with the band there were great smiles on the face of the musicians. Mac and Harm looked at one another, neither could remember ever feeling so happy. Than the instruments started up again to join the clapping.

_Come get yer duds in order, cause we're bound to cross the water_

_Heave Away! Me jollies, Heave Away!_

_Come get yer duds in order for we're bound to leave tomorrow_

_Heave Away! MacKenzie cause, we're all bound away. _

The last lyrical change had caused the bar to erupt into laughter and Mac looked up at Harm with a hungry look in her eyes. She grabbed him by the hand and led him out of the bar and into the parking lot. Dalton went to get out of his chair at the table, but the musicians came over and stood between him and the door.

"Hey Admiral why don't you join us for the next song?" The Admiral was conveniently sitting next to Dalton just in case this happened, the plan was falling together perfectly.

"No boys, I think I'll stay right here." The Admiral looked up with a smile at the young men who began to plead with him.

Out in the alley Mac was still leading Harm by the hand. She spun him around and pushed him backward into the side of his car. He had a bewildered look upon his face, her actions were confusing and surprising. She pounced on him, her hungry lips met his, her hands on his cheeks pulling him into her, just like she'd done when they were in Columbia a year earlier only this time the kiss was completed. His arms wrapped themselves around her, he wanted this so much but her aggressive approach hadn't exactly been what he'd expected.

He moved his lips from hers and gently attacked the nape of her neck under her jaw. She let out a soft moan and realized that for the last few minutes all the problems, all the obstacles that the world brought with it had been erased and she prayed that he never lifted his lips from her, fearing that his doing so would only bring them back.

He did remove his lips from her, he wanted to look in her eyes and see everything that she had to be seeing his eyes, all the love, the desire, the lust. He saw only doubt and fear. "Sarah, the things you do to me." He tried to reassure both of them but his words came to late.

"Harm we can't, it wouldn't be fair, to any of us. I'm so sorry." She couldn't control the tears that slowly rolled down her cheeks. He brushed them away gingerly. She got off of him and stood there, looking at him as he got in his car and drove away.


	6. People v Rabb

A/N: Big thanks to my Beta for catching my grammar screw-ups.

"If Rabb says he didn't do it then he didn't." Admiral Chegwidden hadn't been particularly happy about being disrupted in the middle of a very peaceful dream to come down here and get one of his attorneys out of Federal custody. It was of some consolation that he wasn't the only one down here. In the same room as himself and the lead FBI agent was Colonel Jim Grant, a few hours due for a shave and with complete bedhead.

"Then all he's got to do is tell us the truth." The Agent shot back at the Admiral.

"He's been doing that for the last hour!" Chegwidden's face turned a heavy crimson. The Agent was unmoved and Chegwidden motioned for Colonel Grant to enter the conversation. "I'm going go get in contact with someone who may be able to help us. Jim get in there and see if you can't pull Rabb's nuts out of the fire, will you?"

"Sure." Both of them left the observation room, the Admiral to go use his phone and Jim to go rescue his friend. Jim burst through the interrogation room door with all the force of a Kansas tornado. "I'm his lawyer, get out!" His voice was forceful and his actions were enough to cause the FBI Agents to jump out of their socks.

"Is this guy really your lawyer?" Agent Kubrick leaned across the table to question Harm.

"Sure is." Harm smiled, he was wondering when someone was going to get here.

"See, now are you going to leave or do I have to repeat myself?" Jim's words were dripping with sarcasm.

"Who are you?" Agent Novack asked.

"Harry Houdini, just watch how fast I make you disappear." The two agents weren't budging. "I wonder what a Federal judge will have to say when I tell him that two Federal agents refused someone in their custody, the right to consult with council. Now vamoose little boys before I have to remove you forcefully." A wide grin was drawn across Jim's face.

"Are you threatening federal agents?" Agent Novack got to his feet.

"Depends, are you stupid enough to risk a physical altercation with a Force Recon Marine?" Jim was never one to back down from a good confrontation.

"He's not under arrest, counsellor, we're just asking him a few questions. Feel free to sit in." Agent Novack kicked the chair out from the table and it fell backward to the floor.

Jim then proceeded to reach across table and pick up Novack's chair for him to sit on. "I like this one, thanks."

"Fine now, Rabb why were you going to meet Kannaplahnik tonight?" Agent Kubrick was determined to get down to business.

"Don't answer that." Jim didn't even look like he was paying attention, in fact he looked like he was falling asleep.

"How did you get in touch with Kannaplahnik?" Agent Novack leaned into the table.

"Don't answer that either." Jim still looked like he was about to fall asleep and Harm couldn't help but laugh as he saw how his friend was getting on the nerves of the two agents.

"Why were you trying to get in touch with Kannaplahnik?" Novack was pressing now, his frustration evident.

"Don't answer that, gee, I sound like a broken record." Jim looked innocently up at the agents.

"Are there any questions your client can answer, counsellor?" Novack was pissed.

"Why don't we start with his favourite colour? Or how he spells his name, those seem harmless." Jim tossed Novack an amused smile. At this point, Harm was sure that if he wasn't under federal investigation, he'd be laughing his ass off.

"Fine, Commander, what is your favourite colour?" Novack could barely get the question out from between his teeth.

"Don't answer that." Jim repeated.

"Why not!" Novack screamed at the two way mirror behind which Admiral Chegwidden was breaking into hysterics.

"I don't like you, you're…mousy. You, Agent Kubrick, you can ask the questions." Jim was just trying to buy time for the Admiral's contact to get here.

"Okay, Commander Rabb, what's your favourite colour." Kubrick couldn't believe he actually had to ask this question.

"Navy blue." Harm's tone was neutral.

"There now, was that so hard?" Jim's smile was enough to make even the most stoic of observers laugh. At that moment the investigation was interrupted and unofficially ended by the presence of Clayton Webb. "Now who's this squirrelly little man, hopefully not another one like Novack over there?"

Webb tossed Jim a confused/annoyed 'who the hell are you' kind of look. "Gentlemen I'm Special Assistant to the Undersecretary of State Clayton Webb."

"That's a round about way of saying CIA." Jim was barely awake.

"At this moment, Lieutenant Commander Rabb is officially being taken into the custody of the State department." Harm got up from his chair and started to move to leave the room.

"Gentlemen, I'd like to say it's been a pleasure, but I'd be lying." Harm nodded at Kubrick before leaving the room.

"Oh and Novack before I forget…" Jim stuck his tongue out at the agent and followed Webb and Harm out of the interrogation room. Out in the hallway Chegwidden was waiting for them.

"Well that was certainly one hell of a performance the three of you put on. I should only ever be forced to deal with you three when you're sleep deprived; I think you're better at your jobs." The Admiral walked down the hallway in step with the other men. "I believe some introductions are in order. Clayton Webb, Colonel Jim Grant USMC. Jim, Clayton Webb CIA."

The two men shook hands. "Mac not at JAG any more?" Webb's question was asked innocently enough but it cause all three men to miss a step. None of them missed the fact that it had been twenty-seven days since Mac last walked out the big glass JAG doors. All three of them shot him a nasty look. "Sorry, I didn't know."

"Never mind that, all three of you go home and get some shut-eye. We're going to need all three of you at the top of your games tomorrow if we're going to fight this thing." The Admiral turned toward his car the second they got into the parking lot. Webb got in his car and Harm and Jim headed toward the car Jim had come in.

"Tomorrow's going to be one long day. Thanks for hauling ass out here for me buddy." Harm slugged his friend in the shoulder as they piled into his Jeep Cherokee.

"Not a problem, I was a little confused that you didn't call Mac though." Jim turned the key in the ignition and felt a cold air suddenly take over the car. "Why do I feel a storied reason coming for why you didn't call Mac?"

"It happened at the Dining Out…" Harm sighed and started.

"I figured. When I saw her lead you out into the alley and come back into the bar alone that something had happened. I don't think I need to hear more." The Jeep pulled out of the parking lot and out into the night.

The next morning Harm, Webb, Jim and the Admiral were all gathered in the Admiral's office. "Rabb, based on what I found out about your interrogation last night, you mentioned something about a Russian Colonel named 'Micha' which is of course short of Mikhail. So I went through files to find pictures of Russian military Colonels name Mikhail." Webb began to shuffle through the pictures until Harm pointed out the man he saw.

"That's him, that's Micha." Harm stated as his eyes widened.

"Actually Rabb, I was kind of hoping you'd point to this one. Especially since our Colonel here has a bit of a history with him. That's Colonel Mikhail Parlovsky, Ru…"

"Russian Army, Intelligence and all things extraordinaire." Jim interjected from his place over near the door of the office. "Parlovsky's a heavy hitter. My guess is that Mr. Webb has been trying to trail him since he's been in the country but Parlovsky keeps giving him the slip."

Everyone in the room looked up at Jim with surprise except Webb who seemed self-satisfied. "Our own Colonel took part in one of the greatest cat and mouse chases of the Cold War with Colonel Parlovsky through the streets of Warsaw during a Polish winter when Colonel Grant was stranded behind enemy lines."

"What does any of this have to do with me Webb?" Harm looked up from his chair at he cocky CIA agent.

"Well Rabb, you can identify Colonel Parlovsky, some thing that would be very embarrassing for the Russian government. Parlovsky also thinks you have the dossier, containing information which would also embarrass the Russian government." Webb was informative but he was skating around the point.

"What Webb is trying to dance around is the fact that Parlovsky wants to minimize the threat you will cause to his government, which is why I'm about to request a half day so I can go and get him." Jim seemed dead serious. The Admiral tossed the Colonel an approving nod and the Marine swept out of his office.

1100 EST

HARM'S APARTMENT

NORTH OF UNION STATION

A tall, lanky grey-haired man cautiously closed the door to the apartment to find all the lights off. Slowly he made his way near to the island in the kitchen area. It was then that he'd heard the clicking back of the hammer of a gun and froze in his tracks.

"Walther PPK. German made by the sounds of it. I knew a Marine in Warsaw who used one once. A personal preference." The heavily accented voice could hear the breathing of a relic that he thought time had buried under the sand.

"What happened to him?" The man in the chair let out a puff of smoke from his cigar.

"My only failed mission was him. I tracked him down for three months through the streets of Warsaw, as well as the countrysides of Western Poland and East Germany. My mission was to kill him or capture him, his mission was to get out. The day he made it into West Germany I was recalled to Moscow. Of course you already knew that…Captain Grant." The grey-haired man turned on heel to come face to face with a figure sitting in the shadow.

"It's Colonel now, Micha. It was eighteen years ago that you chased me through Eastern Europe. But it seems that this time, the mouse has trapped the cat." Jim got up out of the chair, gun steady on his Russian counterpart.

"All those years ago, my mission was to kill you. What is your mission now, to kill me?" The questioning eyebrows were not lost on Jim.

"I'm here to get the truth Micha, you remember truth? It's that pesky character trait that separates spies like you from soldiers like me. It's what kept me alive that winter and what could kill you right now." Jim advanced on him.

"Truth is a matter of perspective." Parlovsky growled.

"My perspective says you're coming down to JAG Headquarters with me." Jim got too close and Parlovsky wrestled for his weapon. The two men jostled for the gun, Parlovsky managed to get a free hand and hit Jim with a needle to his arm. Suddenly the room became very dark and it was all over.

When Harm came home that night he saw an ambulance out in front of his building and a team of FBI agents combing his apartment. The paramedics were standing over the body of his friend. "What happened to him?"

"He was hit with a dose of Sodium Pentothal. It knocked him out pretty hard." The Paramedic responded. Harm went further into his apartment and found Agents Novack and Kubrick in his bathroom.

"You'd better have a warrant for this search." Harm demanded and Kubrick pulled one from the inside pocket of his jacket. Just as Harm was reading the warrant Agent Novack pulled something out of the toilet tank.

"Well what have we here? Israeli ammo perhaps? What do you want to bet that it matches that slug we took out of Kannaplahnik?" Novack looked liked he'd finally beaten Harm. Kubrick pulled out his handcuffs and turned Harm around. "Harmon Rabb, you are under arrest for the murder of Igor Kannaplahnik."

It had been a long day for Harm, a very long day. He sat in his cell at the brig, waiting, hoping that someone might come and interrupt his monotony. Meeting the young sergeant that he had defended a few years back was at least some perk to his day. It meant he had someone to talk to, when he felt like talking. The window was sufficient company, and outlook on the world, his only outlook on the world at this point.

"Rabb! You've got a visitor!" Harm got up from his position near the window and walked to the cell door. The young sergeant escorted him to the visitation room. 'If there's a God, my visitor will be Mac.' The door opened and Harm saw who had come to visit him. 'It's Webb, well Satan's still alive and kicking.' The Sergeant led him into the room and stood guard outside the door.

"Rabb, listen I don't have a whole hell of a lot of time. Here's the dossier, you wanted, it wasn't easy to get." Webb seemed rushed to say the least.

"Fat lot of good the dossier does me now Webb, in case you've forgotten I live behind a few inches of wrought iron bar." Harm was sarcastic, he hadn't had a peaceable sleep in a while, prison racks weren't the best for getting any shut-eye on.

"That's why you're going to need this." Webb slid a pistol out from under the sleeve of his jacket into Harm's hands which immediately slid the pistol into the sleeve of his current brig attire.

"No wires in any of this right Webb?" Harm's stern expression was an attempt to break all of Webb's BS.

"Of course not Rabb, what do you think of me?" Webb tried to sound offended and Harm chuckled slightly under his breath. "Guard!" Webb cried aloud so that the Marine sergeant would come and fetch Harm. Harm walked back to his cell trying to look defeated but his posture was only to prevent the gun in his sleeve from sliding down into his hand too early. As the young, familiar Marine sergeant went to guide him into his cell Harm pulled his gun.

"I'm sorry about this sergeant." Harm's voice showed a distinct sincerity.

"You gotta do what you gotta do, sir." The young man admonished. "They may charge me with dereliction of duty for the this sir." The young man seemed to be making one last plea.

"If they do sergeant, I'll defend you." Harm sounded almost honourable with his offer. "One more thing sergeant, I'm going to need your clothes."

A little less than two hours later Harm was standing in the only place in the world left for him, the only place where he could be himself without having to look over his shoulder. He was standing, in the uniform of a Marine sergeant, in front of Sarah MacKenzie's apartment. He knocked on the door and let out a heavy breath. She opened the door and saw him standing there. "If you let me in, you'll be harbouring a fugitive." He was blunt.

She opened the door wide to allow him to enter the apartment. He came walking in, never taking his eyes off of her. "How's your Russian?" She responded with a Russian phrase that he of course couldn't understand. He pulled out the dossier and laid it out on her coffee table. The two of them worked through the remainder of the night and well into the morning.

"As far as I can tell from the dossier, your father was taken to Russia during the war. After the war was over he was released from KGB custody and went into the interior to some place named Tcherilsk near Lake Boshna, after that the trail goes cold." Mac winced and rotated her shoulders to indicate that her neck and shoulders were getting a little stiff. Harm pulled her up into his lap and started to gently massage her shoulders. She let out a soft moan but it became so much, the magic of his hands overtook her. "Oh God yes, don't stop!" She practically yelled.

A burst of static electricity went down her spine at his touch, he was doing it again, just like he'd done the night of her dining out. God the things he could do to her, if only she would let go. She moved on impulse again, craning her neck ever so slightly and raising her right arm she took him by the back of the head and savagely pulled his lips down to meet hers. He lost himself fast as she turned herself around so that she was on top of him, straddling him.

His fingers ran up the inside of her shirt lightly skimming her skin, the featherweight of his touch inducing another moan, this one louder, more possessive. The trouble once again came when their lips parted. "Sarah, we…you said this wasn't fair to any of us." Had she changed her mind, God how he'd hoped.

"Harm, I can't, not any more, even if it's just for this one morning." She purred into his ear as she tore open the Marine uniform shirt that adorned his chest. She went to run her hands up his chest but he took her hands in his.

"Sarah, I care for you, God knows. But I can't, I can't let this be just one morning with you Sarah." He kissed her bitter-sweetly on the lips before grabbing the dossier and going toward the door. "I hope, you understand Sarah, that you mean more to me than one morning can hold." Gently, he closed the door behind him.

"I understand." She sat in the foetal position on the couch clinging to a pillow, gently allowing the tears in her eyes to make tracks down her cheeks.

0900 EST   
JAG HEADQUARTERS  
FALLS CHURCH, VIRGINIA

"Rabb, it's taken some pretty high-scale intervention to keep you off charges for brig break!" The Admiral was trying hard not to explode on Harm, due to the fact that he was pretty sure Webb was knee deep in this whole mess.

"I understand sir." Harm sounded as mechanical as humanly possible.

"Good, now I heard that Commander Imes met with you during your brief residency in the brig. I think you need to get the truth here pretty quick Rabb, I can't have investigations tying up half of my senior staff, not with Major MacKenzie gone." The Admiral looked with concern into the eyes of the young man he was coming to view as his son.

"Sir, about Lieutenant Commander Imes, no offence intended to her or her legal skills but I would prefer an attorney who believed in me which is why I suppose I assumed you were going to assign Colonel Grant to my case sir." Harm tried not to sound disappointed in Imes' behaviour.

"No can do Commander, Colonel Grant went down with anaemia or some damn thing from that injection when he was battling Parlovsky in your apartment. He's on sick leave for a while, though it wouldn't exactly surprise me if he were chasing Parlovsky around DC." The Admiral sat back in his chair. "My suggestion Commander is that you go confer with your council, if you still find yourself in conflict with Imes then you can always exercise your right to civilian council." They both knew he was talking about Mac.

"Aye, aye sir." Harm snapped his heels together then executed a perfect about face before exiting the Admiral's office. It was a little while later that Harm had to appear before Admiral Morris on a hearing as to whether he could be released into his own custody. Morris ended up ruling that Harm, not being a danger to others or himself and not being a flight risk, could be released from custody and so one major obstacle had been overcome. Having been relieved of duties by the Admiral the previous day, and unwilling to find himself under Federal surveillance at his apartment, Harm found himself a safe-house in the form of a ferry down at the pier.

In her office at the Firm, Mac was getting in late, the whole incident that morning with Harm had her a little shook up. "Sarah, have you got the Cullen deposition?" The voice was one she was beginning to regret, that of Dalton Lowne. Mac looked confused at Dalton. "Cullen, remember, the product liability suit? What happened to you last night Sarah, I called but you never answered."

"I uh, I had a migraine Dalton, I went to bed." She lied, she hadn't thought about Dalton at all the previous night.

"Awww, you should've told me, I would've come over and taken care of you." Dalton's sincerity made Mac feel all the worse about the encounter with Harm that morning.

"That's sweet." Mac's voice was laced with a false sincerity that she hated. She hated not honestly feeling for him the way she'd let on. She hated only being with him because he had been the first to express interest, because Harm just hadn't yet. "I'll be in with the deposition in a minute." Mac opened the door of her office and walked in only to find the face of a man she'd never met.

"Miss MacKenzie." The voice had an accent that Mac immediately picked up on.

"Colonel Mikhail Parlovsky." Mac shot back.

"It's so nice to talk with intelligent people." Parlovsky got out of the chair he was sitting in.

"What do you want?" Mac's fuse was short.

"The dossier." Parlovsky's tone was neutral.

"I don't have it." Mac was trying to avoid sarcasm from creeping into her voice.

"I know, your Commander Rabb does, but as of yet he's proven most evasive. What I am proposing is a trade. In return for his turning over the dossier, I am prepared to testify that I killed Kannaplahnik." Parlovsky looked smug.

"And you won't be prosecuted because you have diplomatic immunity." Mac was not impressed.

"Exactly, you're much too smart for a lawyer." Parlovsky quipped.

"Sarah, the Cullen deposition in room 2…" Dalton barged through the door only to find Mac standing face to face with Parlovsky.

"I will be going. I will get in touch with you later to arrange another meeting." Parlovsky turned and left the office leaving Dalton with a questioning look on his face.

Back at the pier Harm was walking around the ferry waiting for someone to come with some news about Parlovsky. When Bud's little red bug pulled up on the pier below him it was a sight of some salvation. Harm noticed two of his friends get out of the vehicle and walk toward the ferry. The two of them got into the boat and Harm looked down from the topside deck. "Bud!"

"Jeez sir, don't you believe in footsteps." Bud was breathing a little heavier, Harm's sudden appearance was quite a shock to him.

"Sorry about that Bud." Harm came down to the main deck. "What brings the two of you by here?" Harm tried to alleviate the tension around the situation.

"Major MacKenzie sent us, with some food and a change of clothes, you know, the basics." Bud replied.

"Mac sent you? Jim since when do you listen to anything Mac has to say?" Harm laughed.

"Since she's no longer a Major, it's foolish for me to argue with her. It's foolish to argue with any woman you can kick your ass." Jim played along.

"Right well you two had better get out of here." Harm turned to head up to the topside deck.

"No." Bud spoke up causing both his senior officers to look in his direction. "Sir, you can't do that. A guy reaches out to help you and you diss him?" Bud was flustered and rightfully indignant.

"Bud listen it's because you're my friend that I don't want you getting in any more trouble than you're already in." Harm was trying to calm his friend down.

"Sir, I've already aided and abetted, I don't know how much trouble I could possibly get in." Bud retorted.

"The man's got a point Harm." Jim smiled, Bud was becoming one hell of a debater and that was going to make him one hell of a litigator.

"Yeah okay, tell Mac, the aviation exhibition at the museum." Harm felt like Mac had suddenly turned into the CO of the whole operation.

"Got it. You want fries with that?" Jim asked as he and Bud turned to head back to the car.

"Just get going. I'd like my friends to keep me out of the brig. God knows Imes seems to be working with Mattoni to put me in there." Harm headed topside and his friends got in Bud's car and drove off.

A little while later Harm showed up at the aviation exhibition, standing near the Stearman exhibit. "Stearman made good machines." Harm instantly recognized the voice from that night in the warehouse.

"I know I own one. What is it you want Colonel?" Harm turned to face the man, who at this moment held his freedom in the palm of his hand.

"The dossier, in exchange you will get my testimony and your freedom." Parlovsky seemed almost devious as he offered his deal. Harm was just about to respond when Webb and his team of goons showed up and surrounded the two men.

"Thanks Rabb, you lead us right to him." Webb looked cocksure and Harm looked perplexed. Webb reached for Harm's weapon and pulled out the magazine to reveal a bug.

"I said no wires Webb." Harm looked like his anger was about to boil over at Webb's cocky smile. Parlovsky picked that moment to make his move. He tussled with two of the agents sending them to the ground. Harm gave Webb and elbow to the gut which had him doubled over in pain. The two men made a run out of the hangar where the exhibit was taking place. "The van!" Harm shouted. Parlovsky climbed into the back and Harm took the driver's seat.

Eventually the van made its way back to the pier and the ferry that Harm had been using as his safe house. "Excellent safe-house Commander, surely no one would think to look for you here." If Harm didn't know better, he'd swear Parlovsky sounded genuine. The two of them stepped on to the ferry. Harm handed Parlovsky the dossier and the older man pulled out his spectacles so that he could read it. "Baiser!" Even though Harm didn't understand a word of Russian, the expression and tone in Parlovsky's voice was enough of a translator. "I swear, if he wasn't dead I would kill him again!" Parlovsky shouted.

"What!" Harm saw Parlovsky throw the dossier down on an old oil drum.

"To think I regretted killing him! The documents Commander, are fake. There is no such place as Tcherilsk or Lake Boshna." Parlovsky lit the documents on fire and started to head up the stairs to the pier.

"Hey you said you'd help me!" Harm shouted.

"Bury the dead Commander, that's my help to you." Parlovsky almost looked like he regretted what he was doing as he turned to go back up to the stairs. Parlovsky looked up and realized that once again, his exit was not to be as easy as he had planned.

"Odd last words for a man who lives in a world of ghosts. Leaving so soon Micha?" The familiar voice combined with the sound of the drawing back of the hammer of a Walther PPK was enough to give Parlovsky a defeated look.

"So the cat and mouse meet at yet another impasse." Parlovsky grinned almost like he was glad he was caught. "I was surprised it took you this long Captain Grant."

"You owe Commander Rabb, his freedom, I'm here to ensure that he gets it." Jim held his gun to the middle of Parlovsky's forehead.

"It appears that you have won the game, Captain, I tip my cap to you." With that, Parlovsky turned and walked back down the stairs to the main deck.

"Harm, Mac's waiting. I'm supposed to ensure that both of you get to trial." Jim smiled as he gave his friend a pat on the shoulder. "Go get into your Class As, your Article 32 starts in about an hour." Harm went to change and the two old adversaries sat out on the deck.

"In all these years that I thought of this game ending, I did not think it would end here." Parlovsky chuckled retrospectively.

"Where did you think it would end Micha?" Jim almost seemed to be familiarizing.

"Some place that was familiar to the chase. Warsaw, Minsk, even Kiev perhaps. If at all fitting it would have ended finally where it paused eighteen years ago, in Berlin." Parlovsky leaned back against the rail on the ferry.

"That certainly was one hell of a day." The two men almost seemed to become friends. "We can't get too friendly now, we'll spoil perfectly good hatred." The two men shared a laugh as Harm came walking out from the cabin in his Class As.

"Ready to go." Harm said with a smile as he leads the way back up to the van on the ferry. The three men piled into the van that took off at a great speed for JAG Headquarters.

JAG HEADQUARTERS

FALLS CHURCH VIRGINIA

All Mac had to do was put Parlovsky on the stand and match the evidence that she'd gathered at the crime scene with his testimony. Mattoni looked like he didn't know what hit him. Mac controlled the courtroom and more importantly, she controlled Parlovsky when he was on the stand. Mattoni couldn't get a single thing out of Parlovsky on cross-examination and that was the final stroke. The judge ruled that there was not sufficient evidence to proceed to court-martial.

"So, is it going to be good luck again this time?" Harm looked intently into her eyes.

"Actually, I need to talk to you about that." Mac looked into his eyes and the two of them made a bee-line for Chegwidden's office. Whizzing passed Tiner the two of them rather brazenly elected to knock on the Admiral's door.

"Enter!" The loud, paternal, familiar tone is heard through the door. Harm and Mac walked through the door, together. Standing side by side in front of the Admiral's desk they both came to attention. "At ease, nice to see you again Major." The Admiral looked up from his paperwork.

"Sir, if I could be so bold, I would like to rescind my request for resignation and terminal leave." Mac's eyed pled more than anything she was saying.

"What happened to your 'long term career goals'? How do I know you won't feel the urge to 'spread your wings' next week?" The Admiral's words were dripping with sarcasm and Harm's face was struggling to contain some rather loud laughter.

"Sir, I could give you a long, well thought out argument about why you should let me come back but the fact is sir, that JAG is where I belong." Mac's argument was convincing, it played to the very virtues that the old SEAL held dear. Chegwidden reached into his desk and produced her requests. "You never processed them sir?"

"You know how things pile up Major, I just didn't have the time. Dismissed." Chegwidden smiled to himself, proud to have his two best senior investigators back on the staff, working together. Harm and Mac walked back into the bullpen to see the most unlikely of pairs standing near their offices talking like old friends.

"You two are still here? And there's no bloodshed? I guess we should be impressed." Mac's sarcasm was evident as she watched the two men give her rather stern looks.

"I told you Micha, these kids have no concept of having a perfectly good adversary." Jim gave his old adversary a well-meaning swat to the shoulder.

"Yes well what can you expect, combat today is so impersonal, they could never become old heroes like us." Parlovsky laughed back. "They should come with us to the bar and hear a real good spy story."

"Let me guess, it starts with 'it was Warsaw, Poland; 1980'?" Harm stated with mock sarcasm.

"Oh good Commander you know how it starts, now I can skip the prologue." Parlovsky's joke got great laughs. With that the four of them walked out of JAG Headquarters, completely unaware of the picture Parlovsky had left on Harm's desk.


	7. Freelancing

"She was NI, really?" Mac and Harm walked through the bullpen toward his office.

"Yeah, the whole situation felt like something out of an Oliver Stone movie." Harm chuckled.

"Hey you two, how was the slumber party last night?" The now familiar friendly face of Jim Grant could be seen walking toward them from Admiral Chegwidden's office.

"Mac made the popcorn, I rented the movie and…" Harm was cut off.

"He fell asleep on my couch by 2200." Mac smiled coyly as the three of them congregated in her office.

"Do you two realize you've been finishing each other's sentences ever since Mac came back to JAG?" Jim was beginning to like the new routine at JAG headquarters; meeting with the Admiral in the morning, then heading off to Mac's office to talk with the two of them and occasionally, Bud if he and Harriet managed to make it into the office in time.

"What are you suggesting Colonel?" Mac fired at her friend who was trying to contain a laugh.

"Nothing, nothing at all." Jim was starting to understand the way these two worked; at least when it came to this particular issue and it scared him.

"Good because I'm sure if Mr. Lowne heard you he'd demand an explanation." Mac looked at her friend with some mock-sternness in her voice.

"Yeah Mac, I've faced guerrillas, soviet spies, Islamic fundamentalist terrorists and I'm going to be afraid of a civilian lawyer from the suburbs." Jim and Harm shared a laugh as Mac made her best attempt at a serious face.

"That's enough you, leave poor Dalton alone." She tossed back playfully.

"Alright kiddies, what've we got on tap today?" Jim had to try and make the situation a little more professional.

"Well the Admiral's still pissed at Mac for leaving, so if there are any investigations to be had, looks like you and I are taking them on." Harm smiled and slugged his friend in shoulder.

"The Duke boys ride again huh?" Jim smiled and rested his head on one of his hands.

"Duke Boys?" Mac looked up at them.

"Long story." Harm explained with that trademark smile of his decorating his face as he looked into her eyes. Mac heaved an over-exaggerated 'Oh'. "So, the Admiral has made you acting head of Admin?"

"Yeah." She replied like someone had just taken the wind right out of her sails.

"Look at the bright side Mac, this mean streak of his can't go on much longer than a year." Harm smiled and all three of them shared a laugh.

"Very funny Flyboy." She said as she saw Dalton Lowne coming across the bullpen. "Would the two of you excuse me for a minute?" Her friends nodded and got up out of their chairs and quickly filed out of her office. Harm and Jim stood off to the side and watched Dalton Lowne enter Mac's office.

"Very interesting." Jim used a Freudian accent and turned to Harm just as the latest load of people got off the elevator. Harm saw Annie Pendry get off the elevator along with Bud and Harriet. Jim saw this new woman walking toward Harm with a smile on her face.

"Annie!" Harm's voice wasn't quite a shout it was just louder than normal. She ran towards him and the two of them embraced, Harm looked kind of awkward but Annie looked right at home. "Oh, where are my manners. Annie Pendry, Colonel Jim Grant USMC." Annie reached out and shook the Marine's hand.

"Another Marine around the office they must be keeping you on your toes, huh, Harm?" Annie looked into his eyes playfully and Harm still looked awkward as hell. Jim was holding his coffee mug in his hand and trying not to feel like a sore thumb but eventually he just couldn't take it any more.

"I'll just be leaving now." Jim walked passed Bud's desk as Harm and Annie went walking into Harm's office. "Lieutenant, with me, we're going to watch the fireworks." The angle of Jim's office allowed him to keep the blinds up and see all that was going on in Harm and Mac's offices, directly across the bullpen from his. Bud followed Jim into his office and the Colonel pulled two chairs around behind his desk. Jim put his feet up on his desk and pulled a tin of Pringles out of the bottom drawer.

"Feel free to kick your feet up and have a chip Lieutenant." Jim popped a few chips in his mouth.

"Thank you sir." Bud kicked his feet up and Jim passed him the tin of chips.

"Bud, if we're going to loach on work, gossip about our co-workers and eat on the job I think you can at least call me 'Jim'." The Marine Colonel laughed and threw his garrison cap on his desk.

"How much have I missed?" Admiral Chegwidden entered the office, grabbed his own chair and put his feet up on the desk.

"What'd Tiner tell you?" Jim asked as he passed the Admiral the chips.

"Only that Lowne was in Mac's office and that some woman named Annie was with Rabb in his office." The Admiral accepted the tin and popped some chips in his mouth.

"Good then you're up to speed. Ten bucks says Mac ends up slapping Lowne for something." Jim reached for a ten and threw it on the desk.

"I'll take that bet, sir." Bud threw a ten of his on the desk.

"I thought you said you didn't bet Colonel?" The Admiral's look of smugness was enough to cause a few repressed smiles.

"Some rules are meant to be broken." Jim laughed and reached for a water in the cooler bag he kept under his desk.

"Yeah well I got ten that says Rabb either hugs or kisses this Annie before she leaves his office." The Admiral threw another ten dollars on the desk.

"I'll cover that one too sir." Bud threw a second ten dollars down on the desk.

"You a masochist Lieutenant?" Admiral Chegwidden asked as the three men looked on at the scenes occurring across the bullpen.

In Mac's office…

"Sarah, I figured we should talk." Dalton seemed to be pleading.

"Here? Dalton if we should talk it shouldn't be where I work; I have business to attend to." She was annoyed.

"Business more important than us Sarah?" Dalton's tone had become almost caustic.

"At the moment, yes." She hoped being dismissive of him would encourage him to just leave.

"You know I've had to put up with a lot in this relationship Sarah. I've had to put up with you agreeing to come work with me only to change your mind and come back here. I've had to put up with the fact that your two best friends are war heroes whose respective physical presences are enough to make me feel insignificant and the fact that there seems to be a very real possibility of you running off with either one of them. I've had to put up with the fact that every time I try and take this relationship to the next physical level you've shut me down. Not to mention the fact that half our encounters at your apartment have been evenings spent babysitting a six year old." Dalton shot back like a geyser trying to release a built up pressure.

"And now, after all that, I come here to talk to you about the distance between us lately and all you can do is brush me off and tell me that it isn't at the top of your priority list!" His anger was rising so much so that it was getting very difficult for the bullpen to pretend they were ignoring what was going on in the office. But now, now it was Mac's turn to fire back

"You know what Dalton, I'm sorry that you are unable to deal with the fact that I'm a Marine not a pencil-pushing desk jockey for a civilian firm. I need to be a Marine and if you can't understand that, then you're right we do have a problem.

As for my friends, they are just that, friends. I've known Jim for a long time and Harm is…well Harm is my partner. I'm sorry if they make you feel insignificant but it's not really my problem if you're insecure now is it?

I'm sorry if you can't handle sharing me with a six year old that happens to be my godson but think about what that means Dalton, we could never have children because you just want me all to yourself. Now, you mentioned the next phase of our physical relationship, to go there would've been a mistake. It wouldn't have been you I was thinking about and it wouldn't have been your name I called out." Mac finished with a smirk, her parting shot hit deep, but it was the truth and for once, Dalton deserved it.

Dalton reeled back from that last comment, that was one hell of a blow to any male ego to take. "You know you can be a real bitch." Before he knew what hit him Mac's open right palm cuffed him across the cheek. Dalton Lowne merely brushed himself off and stormed out of Mac's office and JAG headquarters.

Across the bullpen, Jim reached on to the desk and grabbed his original ten dollars and then ten he'd just won from Bud. "I'll go talk to her." He walked out of his office and across the bullpen toward Mac's. Before he could get to her door Harm intercepted him. "You want to handle this one buddy; I'll take the meeting in your office." Harm nodded and headed into Mac's office leaving the Colonel to deal with Annie Pendry.

"How you feelin' jarhead?" Harm opened the office door to see Mac trying to hold back a few light sobs.

"I've been better flyboy." Her voice broke a little as she sat back on her desk.

"C'mere." He opened his arms and she fell into them.

"I don't know what happened, he never said anything really until today and then it just all came pouring out like some great bullshit volcano." She laughed as she pressed her cheek against his chest.

"It's his loss Mac, you're one hell of a woman and you're going to make some man very happy someday." He had one hand on her back and the other cradling her head into his chest.

"My poor flyboy, always a pillar of strength." She tightened the hug and looked playfully up into his eyes.

"Since when am I _your_ flyboy?" Harm smiled as he slowly released his grip.

"Well you have to be somebody's flyboy, we can't just have you wondering around like some stray puppy now can we?" She smiled, her lips still together.

"So you've decided to adopt me?" Harm chuckled and his arms shook gently caressing her back but unintentionally.

"Well only until you make a mess on my rug." She laughed and went back to the chair behind her desk.

"You okay now Mac?" The concern in his eyes almost seemed like love for a split second.

"Yeah, but I'd still feel better if you bought me pizza tonight flyboy." She shot back with a laugh.

"I'll think about it Marine." With that he closed the door to her office and walked back to his own office.

Backtrack a few minutes to Harm's office….

"Hello, Miss Pendry, I'm Colonel Grant, we met out in the hallway." Jim walked in and closed the door to Harm's office behind him.

"Yes I remember Colonel. Where's Harm?" Annie looked up at him like he was out of place.

"He's off dealing with a personnel matter that he was particularly qualified to handle and required his immediate attention." The Marine efficiency was evident in his voice. "If this is Navy business I'd be more than happy to help."

"This isn't really Navy business, I mean it's about my son, Harm's got this knack for talking to Josh." Annie seemed to be struggling to get out an ambiguous statement.

"You've got a son too huh? It's an adventure, mine's just entering those adventurous years." Jim smiled as he sat on the edge of Harm's desk.

"How old's yours?" Annie looked up from the floor.

"Six about to turn seven, you?" A smile played across Jim's face.

"Ten. Yours want to be a Marine like his old man?" Annie hoped it wasn't just Josh that wanted to emulate his father.

"Yeah I think he wants to be my CO more than anything." Jim laughed. "He's been easier on me than my daughter Gabby though, Gabbs was a real demanding little princess sometimes. She's off trying to become a Marine Aviator."

"My husband used to fly Tomcats, he and Harm went to flight school together. It's hard to believe it's been two years." She looked at him and tears formed in her eyes, he knew that tone, he'd used it himself a lot

"I can empathize I lost my wife about a year and a half ago to a car crash. Time doesn't make it any easier does it?" It was amazing how these two could familiarize.

"No, no it doesn't. So, tell me, what is it you did before you became a JAG, not another flyer like Harm?" She tried to alleviate some of the tension.

"No, no, I've spent most of my days in the Corps in Force Recon. But I'm an old man now, they don't need line officers like me running through the jungle any more. They'd rather have us armed with pens ready to seize the nearest cubicle." The two of them laughed.

"All your exciting days behind you?" Annie questioned with an inquisitive look on her face.

"Reluctantly, there's still a little fight left in the old bulldog, he just never gets any yard time." Jim laughed and Harm entered the room.

"You talking her ear off Jim?" Harm laughed as he closed the door behind him.

"No, just making friendly conversation. How'd you handle that personnel problem?" Jim arched his eyebrows so that Harm would catch his drift.

"Oh, that! Well I was right, it required my personal attention and it may keep me busy tonight." Harm and Jim exchanged knowing smiles.

"That's too bad Harm I was going to extend a dinner invitation your way tonight." Annie piped up.

"Yeah well after what you told me about Josh, I think I'm going to need to take him out to Andrews now. We should get this squared away." Harm looked at Annie and nodded. "I could use some back-up on this one, you think you could swing it with Chegwidden?"

"Oh I'm sure I could. Come on, we should probably get out there before Mac tries to get us to help her with that computer upgrade." Jim started to walk out of the office and Harm stuck around for just a few seconds to give Annie a quick hug before leaving his office. Across the bullpen, in Jim's office the Admiral could be heard shouting 'YES!' and picking up the remaining twenty dollars on the desk. "How does it feel to be twenty dollars lighter Bud?"

"It sucks sir." Bud replied disheartened. The Admiral on the other hand was smiling from ear to ear.

"Sir, we need permission to investigate a possible homicide at the Naval Air Facility at Andrews, do we have permission?" Harm asked standing half in Jim's office.

The Admiral quickly pulled his feet off of Jim's desk and sat straight up in his chair. "Possible homicide? I haven't heard anything about it."

"Well sir we just got a lead and we think it's worth chasing down." Harm sounded convincing.

"Consider yourselves so ordered. By the way, is it true that Colonel Stacy out at Quantico dubbed the two of you 'the Duke Boys'?" The Admiral had a self-amused look.

"Yes sir." Harm replied with a grin on his face.

"Does that make me Uncle Jesse?" The Admiral chuckled a little under his breath.

"Only if the SECNAV can be Boss Hogg." Jim said as he burst into laughter.

"Dismissed, the pair of you." The Admiral laughed as he made his way back to his own office.

After taking Josh back to Andrews the two JAG officers dropped Josh off at home in Baltimore and Annie extended a dinner invitation to the pair of them. Dinner was delicious and afterward Josh went off on his own and the adults were left at the table. "Let me help you clear the table Annie." Jim got up with both arms full of dishes nonsense.

"Nonsense Jim, you're a guest, I can't ask you to help me." She laughed as she saw the normally tough Marine Colonel delicately balancing all the dishes which had previously been on the table.

"You didn't ask, I offered. Besides, I was a domesticated animal for twenty three years, I know the drill with cleaning dishes. I'll leave the lazing about to mustangs like Harm over there." Jim laughed as he cautiously slid the dishes into the sink.

"Hey Colonel, just because you gave up bachelorhood all those years ago doesn't mean the rest of us got to follow the same route." Harm stood in archway between the kitchen and the dining room.

"Ah, you'll want to soon enough. You'll find a nice girl to settle down with and you'll become a domesticated animal. Not only that, you'll create a bunch of little Rabb-lets, which I'm sure will drive Chegwidden insane." Jim's comment as he took a rag and started washing the dishes, caused laughter throughout the room. "Just the thought of Chegwidden chasing a bunch of little Harms around the office, it's priceless."

"See I could get used to this, men who are willing to have intelligent conversation and clean, how much does it cost to rent you two out for weeks at a time?" Annie asked playfully.

"You couldn't afford us, as it is only the US government can, we come highly recommended." Harm smiled. "Annie where's Josh I'm sure he would like some company."

"He'll be out front on the porch Harm." Annie pointed to the front door. Harm walked out to the front porch. "So do they only bring in sexy officers at JAG or what?"

"Couldn't tell you, don't look at the officer's at JAG like that." Jim laughed as he put all the dishes on a towel on the counter to dry.

"Not even Mac?" Annie looked inquisitive.

"The woman's been my friend for a long time, I can't really look at her that way any more." Jim smiled weakly as he drained the water from the sink. "Besides, I know a guy at the office who's pretty sweet on her." Annie laughed and looked over at him than she pinched him on the arm.

"Hey, what was that for?" He asked trying to sound offended and hurt.

"Just trying to see if you're for real. The way you talk, about your kids, about love, you sound like Ward Cleaver. They sure don't make'em like you any more." She smiled, not sure if the man who stood at the sink was in fact the genuine article.

"Yeah the government upgraded to the Rabb model in the early 60s." Jim smiled cautiously, trying to prevent the flirting from going too far.

"And funny too. If you ever start dating again you're going to be a real threat to the greater DC area."

Out on the porch Josh was sitting on bench with his toy F-14. "Hey Josh, how's school?" Harm sat next to the young man.

"Fine I guess." Josh seemed less than happy.

"How are things with your mom?" Harm was trying at least to make Josh know he wasn't going to get in trouble for what happened.

"She tell you to ask that?" Josh shot back.

"No buddy, I was concerned."

"Things are okay I guess…" Josh looked out into the street. "Harm, that's the same van I saw in the hangar."

"Go back in the house buddy." Harm got up to guide Josh back into the house just as the men in the van opened fire. The bullets riddled the house breaking windows and bursting their way through the door. "Get Down!" Harm shouted and everyone hit the floor. Everyone lay on the floor in the living room. When the gunfire ceased, Jim drew his gun and got up from the floor, instinctively heading for the door. "Jim, where the hell do you think you're going?"

"To catch the bad guys Harm, that's how it always works in the movies." Jim said caustically.

"You'd better let me do it." Harm got up from the floor. "You'll be of more use here."

"Because Marines are better for guarding people?" Jim shot back.

"No, because I've seen you drive." Harm smiled. "I got my sidearm and my keys, I'll be back soon. Jim, call…"

"Don't worry, I'll get Chegwidden, Mac and NCIS over here faster than Bud can recite a thousand Star Trek facts." Jim reassured his friend. With that Harm practically jumped from the porch and into his car. Within seconds he was in hot pursuit of the van that had shot up the Pendry home. Luckily the van was a real clunker and no match for the power that was under the hood of Harm's car. The chase ran well through the streets of Baltimore attracting the attention of a number of police cruisers.

"Oh great, instant back-up." Harm said aloud to himself as he kept pace with the van. The pursuit of the van raged on for what was nearly another hour until finally the van swerved into oncoming traffic and overturned as it tried to evade an oncoming mini-van. Harm pulled off to the side of the road. The cops pulled him over and immediately drew their guns as they approached the overturned van. "Listen, I'm Lieutenant Commander Harmon Rabb Junior with JAG, these guys are suspects in a murder investigation." Harm was taken to the his place behind the wall of cruisers .

"Listen Mr. Rabb, we've found automatic weapons in that van along with two very dead men, now in the morning I'm going to need you to bring that witness of yours down to the City Morgue tomorrow to make a positive ID. For tonight, I'll post a surveillance team on the house." The Detective assured Harm.

"Thanks Lieutenant Mullen, that means a lot." Harm got in his car and drove, this time a little slower back to the Pendry house which was right now being combed by an NCIS team. When Harm pulled into the driveway and turned off the car, he let out a slow, heavy breath before unbuckling his seatbelt and getting out of the car. He saw the front door open and he saw Mac come flying down the front steps, she leapt into his arms nearly sending him on to his six.

"Harm, what were you thinking chasing criminals with assault rifles through half of Baltimore, don't you know you could've been killed?" Mac was worried sick, in fact she'd smacked Jim several times for letting Harm go alone.

"Hey, it was just like any of our other missions Mac, we won, the bad guys lost. You weren't worried about missing me were you Marine?" Harm tried to add some levity to the scene.

"No, I just hate breaking in new partners." She came back with a small laugh.

"Isn't that supposed to be my line?" Harm looked down into her eyes before realizing that quite a crowd had gathered in the Pendry doorway. His two superior officers stood there looking rather pleased with themselves along with Josh and Annie Pendry. "Hey Jim, don't we have another job to get to?" Harm looked down at his watch and shouted at his friend.

"Why Harm, I do think you're right. Thank God you didn't wreck the trunk of your car, we're going to need that equipment." Jim jumped off the front porch.

"Another job? What the hell are you two doing?" The Admiral seemed somewhat indignant.

"Freelancing, you're all welcome to come along, we could use all the support we can get." Harm and Jim walked over to the car and piled in. "Come on, we're headed over to McMurphy's!" With that everyone piled into their respective cars and followed Harm and Jim to McMurphy's. When they got there, they saw the two men pull long black bags out of the trunk of Harm's car and head into the building.

"Bud! Everything set up?" Harm shouted as the two of them entered the bar.

"All set sir. Nick, the house drummer, he's going to be sitting in with us tonight since we weren't able to find a drummer sir." Bud hooked the last two cables into the amplifiers.

"That's good Bud, he was the one we were practising with." Jim said as he opened his gig bag to reveal a beautiful, Marine green, Peavey bass. "He knows the set we've been preparing to play for tonight."

"This is your big freelancing gig flyboy? You and your buddies decided to start a little rock band in your spare time." Mac looked at him like he had succeeded in doing the most immature thing on earth.

"Actually after the night of your dining out, Eamon, the guy who owns this place, asked Jim to put together a house band. Well Eamon already had a drummer, Jim could play bass, he talked to Bud about playing keyboard and finally Jim talked me into playing guitar and singing lead." Harm smiled at her as she went and sat at a table with the Admiral, Harriet, Annie and Josh.

Harm pulled out his acoustic and plugged the patch-chord in at the bottom. "Alright, um, we were asked to form this band about seven weeks ago so bear with us. We've had a few rehearsals but we would like to clear up something, our keyboardist learned how to play by figuring out the sound effects to Star Trek episodes." The bar laughed and Bud tried to look embarrassed.

Jim sat on a stool next to Harm, his acoustic in his lap, instead of his bass since their first song didn't call for it. He was the only other person on stage with a microphone. "Yeah but he's actually pretty good so it shouldn't be too much of a problem. We spent seven weeks trying to come up with a name for this band and to be quite honest we got nothing. That is until our CO told us that a senior officer referred to me and Harm here as the 'the Duke Boys' while we were on an investigation. So here it is, the inaugural performance of: The Duke Boys."

"You ready guys?" Harm looked behind himself on the stage. Nick the drummer and Bud both nodded their heads, the drumsticks clicked together four times as Nick counted them in. The unmistakeable acoustic intro to _Suite: Judy Blue Eyes_ was picked out by the two men sitting at the front of the stage as their respective voices rang out into the microphones.

_It's getting to the point_

_Where I'm no fun anymore_

_I am sorry_

_Sometimes it hurts, so badly_

_I must cry out loud_

_I am lonely_

_I am yours, you are mine_

_You are what you are_

_You make it hard – _

With the soft words of Harm's voice ringing through the bar, Mac lost herself, there was nothing, no one else but her and her man, on stage with his guitar. She couldn't have been more seduced by a sound if he tried. For the next song, Jim took over guitar duties as Harm sang a stirring rendition of _Crying in the Chapel_. Mac's favourite moment of the night came when Harm seemed to be looking right into her eyes when the band did a version of the Temptation's _Just My Imagination._ To pick up the pace, they did a cover of Waylon Jennings' _Good Ol' Boys._ Finally, the last song they did before they took their break was a version of The Beatles' _A Day in the Life_.

"That's all we got for you tonight folks, be back next Friday and maybe we'll have more!" Harm called from the stage as the band stepped away from their instruments and the lights dimmed on the stage. Bud, Harm and Jim walked out to join their friends at the table.

"You boys weren't half bad, you know if you ever need a Harmonica player…" Everyone looked surprised at the Admiral as he made his suggestion. "What? Every young man wants to be a rock star!"

"We'll keep you in mind if we ever need one sir." Harm said his arm had casually found its way around Mac's shoulders where she was perfectly comfortable. The crowd was beginning to stir around the bar and the chant seemed to grow like rushing ball of thunder at the back of the room. "Encore! Encore! Encore! Encore!" Soon it was being chanted by everyone in the bar including the waitresses, bartenders and friends at the table. "Admiral, we could use your help for this one." The musicians rushed back to the stage, the Admiral jogged along with them.

"What am I supposed to do?" The Admiral asked seeing as he, Bud and Jim shared one microphone for this one. Jim had the electric bass around his neck for this one.

"Just follow what Bud and I do sir, we only need you for the beginning anyway." Jim smiled and at the back, Nick sat behind the kit and counted them back in.

"1, 2, 3, 4!" Harm called from the front of the stage.

_Ouga Chacka! Ouga, Ouga, Ouga Chacka!_ The line was shouted by the Admiral, Jim and Bud and it was repeated but their microphone faded as Harm's took prominence.

_I can't stop this feeling_

_Deep inside of me_

_Girl, you just don't realize what you do to me_

_When you hold me_

_In your arms so tight_

_You let me know_

_Everything's Alright ah, ah, ah_

_I'm Hooked on a Feeling_

_I'm high on believing_

_That you're in love with me_

Harm was getting cat calls from all the ladies in the audience as he moved out into the crowd. Bud went back to his keyboard and the Admiral went back to the table with a smile on his face. One by one, Harm worked his way from woman to woman in the bar, making it look like he was singing individually to each of them always keeping Mac in his peripheral.

_Lips as sweet as Candy_

_Their taste stays on my mind_

_Girl, you keep me thirsty for another cup of wine_

Eventually Harm fixed his gaze intently on Mac almost as if there was no one else in the bar.

_I've got it bad for you girl_

_But I don't need a cure_

_I'll just stay addicted, If I can endure_

_All the good love, when we're all alone_

_Keep it up girl, yeah you turn me on_

Harm was now walking around Mac's chair, never lifting his gaze from her. He could see her blush, and laugh as he seemed to parade around her. He got down on his knees like he was pleading to her in a really humorous kind of way. Was it part of the performance? It was safe for both of them to assume so and that's exactly what they did. Harm made his way back up to the stage to finish the song with his bandmates.

_I'mmmmm, I'm Hooked on a Feeling_

_I'm high on believing _

_That you're in love with me _

_All that good love, when we're all alone_

_Keep it up girl, yeah you turn me on _

_I say I'm Hooked on a Feeling_

_I know I'm high on believing _

_That you're in love with me_

_Yeah, I'm hooked on that feeling!_

The band stood in a row, all next to one another at the end of the song and took a bow. The owner of McMurphy's came running up to the stage at the end of the set and stood right in the middle of the band. "That was the Duke Boys; with our own Nick Malone tapping the skins; Lieutenant Bud Roberts tickling the ivories; Colonel Jim Grant on bass, guitar and backup vocals and Lieutenant Commander Harmon Rabb Jr. plucking the strings and serenading you with that voice of his all night. If they're in town and not out protecting our freedom, you'll be able to catch the Duke Boys right here at McMurphy's every Friday night at 9:30 or for you military types 2130!"

For the second time that night, the band made their way off the stage to the table where all their friends were sitting. "So, what'd you think of that Josh?" Harm said as he once again sat down next to Mac.

"You guys rocked!" Josh's enthusiastic reply brought smiles to everyone's faces.

"Yeah Harm, that was some show you put on up there, especially at the end." Mac teased him with a suggestive eyebrow here and a seductive smile there.

"Yeah I was pretty fantastic wasn't I?" Harm sounded cocky and self assured which earned groans from his bandmates.

"Well I think that you guys looked pretty hot up there in your civvies." Annie looked across the table at the men who all looked tired and worn out not to mention glistening with sweat.

"Ahhhhh, Mom!" Josh sounded surprised.

"Hey she'll get no argument from me!" Harriet added causing Bud to look rather pleased with himself as she kissed him on the cheek.

"Hear, hear!" Mac added .

"Thank God David's at a friend's tonight, I don't think he'd ever stop singing all this week, if he'd been here" Jim raised a bottle of water to his lips.

"It's getting late folks, I think we should all be heading home." The Admiral stated as he rose from his chair.

"Yeah you're right. Admiral, why don't you and I give Annie an escort home so that she gets there alright, she came here in your car anyway." Jim got up from the table and stretched. "They've posted a surveillance team outside her house, so she'll be safe at least until the ID can be made tomorrow morning."

"Yeah, sounds good, come on Colonel, Mrs Pendry, Master Pendry." The Admiral lead the way for the four of them to leave the bar.

"We should be heading home too Harriet." Bud said as the two of them got up and walked out of the bar.

"Well Marine, as I recall, I still owe you that pizza from earlier, so you up for a slumber party at my place?" Harm looked suggestively into her eyes.

"Well you've got that air mattress, but you always end up giving me your bed and taking the air mattress for yourself, so…okay." She smiled and got up from her chair.

"I'm even going to let you rent the movies this time." He sounded like he was sweetening the deal.

"So, no Top Gun? Harmon Rabb you're spoiling me. Don't stop." She smiled and the two of them walked out of the bar together. His arm around her waist and her head on his shoulder.


	8. Decisions

A/N: Alright it seems only fair to state this off the bat: A) This chapter is a Part 1 of 2 and (B) The following contains course language PG-13 (remember they _are_ sailors)

Mac had gotten him to rent a TV, just for their slumber parties, he didn't have cable or anything just a working set and a VCR. The two of them set up the air mattress to watch the movie and soon afterward she had fallen asleep. He would've never taken her for a talker while she was asleep. He had found himself unable to fall asleep for two reasons largely. One, Mac was just to captivating a creature while she slept and secondly she said some pretty interesting things without knowing it.

"Flyboy, can you go watch the kids?" She mumbled in her sleep.

"Whose kids?" Harm whispered back like he was trying to encourage her.

"Bud and Harriet's." Mac's words were becoming a little more audible.

"Oh, yeah sure." Harm whispered disappointedly.

"And Flyboy, thanks for last night." She muttered like she was slowly slipping into a deep sleep.

"Thanks for what Mac?" Harm had a smile on his face as tried to get the last little bit of information out of her.

"All the sex Flyboy!" Her eyes opened and she whacked him with a pillow. "Gotcha squid! Now are you going to explain why you were watching me sleep, not to mention interrogating me?"

"Well you just looked really peaceful, besides when you start saying 'Flyboy' my ears kind of perk up." He smiled and brushed an errant strand of hair behind her ear as she lay on the pillow. "When exactly did you wake up anyway?"

"The second you started talking." She looked into his eyes. "We should really get some sleep Flyboy; we have to be in the office bright and early tomorrow."

"Yeah I know, I guess my mind was occupied with other things, I was thinking I guess about Admiral Clancy, you know Mac we've put our fair share of people behind bars, don't you ever worry that someone might come after us?" Harm stared up at the ceiling of his apartment.

"Harm you've got a Marine right here with you and one right downstairs, I think you're pretty safe." She tried to get a laugh out of him.

"Hey, you've got your own personal flyboy watching your six; you won't exactly be getting in any trouble either." Harm laughed.

"So you're watching my six are you flyboy?" She looked at him with that coy playful look.

"It's one of my more pleasant duties." Harm smiled at her and looked in her eyes, their exchanges were so fluid, for a while there everything had seemed so deep, so emotional but now, it was all so light and freeing.

"Alright Flyboy, before you get any ideas, we should really get some sleep. I'll take your bed." She tried to look innocent as she walked into his bedroom.

"Leave it to the Marines to always take the initiative!" Harm shouted.

"That's right Flyboy!" Mac curled herself up under his blanket and went to sleep. The two of them had developed something of a routine, every morning, Harm would wake up first (one of Mac's traits he claimed wasn't rubbing off on him), and after making sure she was still asleep, take a shower. Mac always woke up the second the water came on, and rather than say anything she'd sneak a few peaks here and there. After showering, Harm would go out into the kitchen and make breakfast and Mac would have her shower.

By the time Mac would get out of her shower, Harm would have breakfast prepared; the two of them would get dressed and head out for office. It was almost like having a roommate a few nights a week. They took separate cars and Harm even dropped by Starbucks to pick up some coffee so that they wouldn't arrive at the same time and he could still be late.

The SECNAV had called an early meeting to be attended that morning by JAG's two senior officers. The Admiral and the Colonel came bustling into JAG headquarters before the sun came up and saw that Nelson was already waiting for them outside the Admiral's office. "Nice of the two of you to join me."

"Yeah because I had nothing better to do at 0445 this morning than haul my ass out of bed, take my son to the babysitter's and come into work for 0600, sir." Jim's response while caustic was largely muffled by a great yawn.

"That's enough…Colonel." The Admiral's normally commanding voice was stifled by a yawn of his own.

"I thought SEALs and Force Recon were supposed to be 'ready, aye ready'?" The Secretary chortled.

"Not when we're over forty, can you please explain to us why we're here, sir." To say that Jim looked slightly annoyed would be to damn with faint praise.

"You two are here because you two are about to get a shot in the arm. AJ, it's appropriations season up on Capitol Hill and I need someone with some force and conviction to make a case to the House Armed Services Committee, you'll be given all of Bill Clancy's notes and you'll be relieved of your responsibilities at JAG for the time being. Jim, you'll be stepping into AJ's shoes, you will for all intents and purposes be the Judge Advocate General of the United States Navy." Nelson looked both men in the eye only to find them unhappy.

"Mr Secretary all you're doing is heaping more work on our respective backs; can you please explain where the shot in the arm comes?" The Admiral looked unimpressed.

"AJ you will technically be the Deputy Chief of Naval Operations during this time, if you still want the job once the appropriations hearings are over, it's yours. Jim, if AJ takes the job you'll get the nomination to be the next JAG. If AJ doesn't want the job then everything goes back to abnormal around here. But AJ, you will be sitting in Bill Clancy's chair for at least the next month." Nelson had a smile on his face that would make you think he's just cured cancer.

"I can tell you right now Mr. Secretary that I'll do DCNO duty for the next month but once appropriations are done I'm coming back to JAG, it's not often a duty station like this comes along and I'm going to stick with it." Chegwidden said with some real force and a sarcastic laugh.

"I figured as much but it still doesn't change the current shuffle. AJ, get what you need to make yourself comfortable in a Pentagon office and Jim good luck trying to handle Major MacKenzie and 'Harmful' Rabb." Nelson gave both of the officers a nod and walked out of the office.

"So Mr. DCNO, you want me to water the ficus in your office?" Jim laughed as he looked over at the Admiral.

"No, I usually get Tiner to do that." The Admiral retorts.

"How about…" Jim started but the Admiral cut him off.

"No, Ensign Sims normally does that."

"Ah, so since you're not going to be my CO for the next month does that mean I get to call you AJ?" Jim smiled and laughed until Chegwidden tossed him a stern laugh.

"I don't know, do you want to live to see your children graduate from Annapolis?" The Admiral inquired with an annoyed look.

"Admiral it is then, sir. Oh and Admiral?" Jim looked at his friend with a quizzical look.

"What is it Colonel?" AJ looked up from his desk.

"Give'em hell sir!" Jim commented as he moved through the doorway.

"Hoorah!" The Admiral replied with a smile as he began collecting some of the essential articles of his office so that he could set up some decent working environment at the Pentagon. The two men sat in their respective offices finishing up the needed paperwork and getting ready for the shuffle that was to occur at 0845 that morning. For the next two hours after the meeting with Nelson the office began to slowly fill and once Tiner was sure he saw all the essential staff in the bullpen he told the Admiral and the Colonel.

The Admiral came walking out of his office with Petty Officer Tiner at his side. "Attention on deck!" The yeoman cried and action in the bullpen ceased.

"I have some news which will no doubt affect all of you. For the next month, the Secretary of the Navy, in his infinite confusion, had decided to make me an interim Deputy Chief of Naval Operations. I've been tasked with handling congressional appropriations hearings which are sure to be an excellent cure for any insomnia that this job may cause. In my absence, Colonel Grant will be the interim JAG, you'll soon discover that the two of us have very different ways of doing things, this won't be a problem as long as he doesn't break anything too important." The Admiral looked around the bullpen to find a bunch of smiling faces.

"That's great Admiral!" Harm was the first to chime in.

"It really is a great opportunity sir." Mac followed suit.

"We're sure gonna miss you around here for the next month sir." Bud chirped in as he shook the Admiral's hand.

"Don't worry sir; I'll make sure there's a full stocked liquor cabinet in your office when you come back." The two senior officers shook hands and gave each other fraternal pats on the shoulder.

"Jim, feed my sheep." With that, the Admiral took his box of possessions and walked through the big glass JAG doors to a waiting elevator.

"What was all that?" Harm looked at his friend who was standing there in awe with a wise grin on his face.

"Those were Christ's last words to St. Peter before the ascension." Jim said like he had just been kicked in the gut. "Alright people we got ourselves a country to save." Jim sounded like a different man as he led his senior staffers into the Admiral's office. Harm, Mac and Bud immediately followed their new CO, with Imes and Mattoni in their wake.

"Alright, Commanders Imes and Mattoni, the two of you will be taking on the bulk of the case-load this week please feel free to make use of Ensign Sims for any required duty. You two are dismissed, you have a lot of work to get through and Yeoman Tiner will ensure that the case files are on your desks." Imes and Mattoni turned on their heels and walked out of the office looking like their workday had just been hit by a Marine force hurricane.

"Mac, Harm and Bud; after the incident on the Reprisal you three are just the people I need for this P1 case that the SECNAV just dumped in my lap. Firstly, are any of you particularly well acquainted with this officer or his record?" Jim pulled out the latest issue of the Navy Times and threw it on the Admiral's desk in front of him.

"Yes sir, that's Captain Mitch Thomas, he's the CAG on the T.R, youngest CAG in the Navy and a shoe-in for a Captain's post. He and his Panthers are said to be the most lethal flying squad working in the Balkans right now." Mac picked up the paper and passed it to Harm.

"This can't be right; this paper says he's only thirty-nine!" Harm sounded like a man in disbelief.

"The Navy Times isn't in the habit of printing lies Commander. Mitch Thomas is a stand-up officer, he's been recommended for accelerated promotion by every CO he's ever had, including the current CNO. Captain Thomas and his patrol are accused of having forgone the Rules of Engagement and having gone 'weapons free' downing a few Syrian MiGs off the coast of Greece. What the hell Syrian MiGs were doing out that far over the Med is anyone's guess. The T.R. needed to make a stop in Greece to refuel because the Skipper didn't think his boat could make it to Naples from where they were in the Med."

"Sir, why would our experience on the Reprisal have anything to do with you assigning us this case?" Bud seemed confused.

"As of 2100 Eastern Standard last night when the call came in over the wire, Secretary Nelson, pain in the ass though he is, had an even bigger pain in the ass barging into his office in the form of Syrian Ambassador Al-Fazan. Fazan thinks that Captain Thomas along with his patrol should be suspended from the Statue of Liberty's torch. The Syrians are calling it an act of war, I need you three to go out there and find out exactly what happened. If it turns out that Captain Thomas evaded the Rules of Engagement then you are to report to me because I have to tell the SECNAV. If it turns out that the Syrians attacked Captain Thomas, you are to thank that aviator and than give me a report so that I can walk down to the Syrian Embassy and shove it down Al-Fazan's throat, are we clear?" This Marine was not the same one that had become an office fixture in the last four months.

"Aye, aye sir." Harm stated as the three officers came to attention.

"This office didn't run from a single problem under Chegwidden and I intend to keep it that way until he gets back. But JAG can't let any one do our talking, the Secretary of the Navy speaks for the politics but JAG speaks for justice and that is what will be done in this office. Which is why the press corps is about to barge into this office and ask me a bunch of questions, I told the SECNAV that'd I'd rather handle it than let someone talk for me now that I'm the Navy's final word on law and order."

"Are you sure that's a good idea sir?" Harm was amazed; he'd never seen such an example of bi-polar disorder.

"It's a damn good idea Commander, who do you think honestly has the best interests of the Department of the Navy at heart? Some cowardly politician or someone whose served the department for twenty-three years?" Jim's jaw was set firm and there was a fire in his eyes.

"Always the 'First to Fight', eh Marine?" Mac shot back.

"You got that right Mac. You two are going to be in here for the press conference, if the world is going to judge the United States Navy, they're going to judge it on my terms and you two are the best I have." If it is possible to storm a beach with words, that's what was happening at that moment. "Fuck, this story's all over ZNN, I'm surprised I don't have half of the State department in here telling me how they want this to turn out."

"Sir, I have some reporters waiting to see you." Tiner's voice came through the intercom.

"Good, send them in Tiner, show time people." Jim cracked his knuckles and Harm and Mac took up positions standing on either side of his chair. Within minutes lights had been set up and the cameras were rolling as the world waited to hear from the Navy's Judge Advocate General.

"I have a brief statement to make after which I will answer any questions you may have. As I'm sure you're all aware, as of 2100 Eastern Standard Time last night, news came to Washington that it was suspected that Naval Aviators serving aboard a Naval vessel involved in the current engagement in the Adriatic were suspected to have downed three Syrian jet fighters without authorization. The office of the Judge Advocate General of the United States Navy has, without hesitation proceeded to launch a full and thorough investigation into these events. The outcome of this investigation **will not** be influenced in any way by any persons wishing to do so, any attempts to cover up wrongdoing or make these aviators scapegoats will be prosecuted with the full fervour and force of my office. Major Sarah MacKenzie and Lieutenant Commander Harmon Rabb are the two best investigators in the Department of the Navy, bar none and if any two people have a big enough shovels to dig through this shit storm it's sure to be these two. Now, are there any questions?"

A flood of hands rose into the air. Jim just started picking people who were the first to volunteer. "Yes, Colonel don't you believe that assigning a former aviator to this case will compromise its outcome?" A cable news reporter asked.

"In case you missed it the first time I said it, allow me to speak slower, I have full confidence that my people will get the job done to the best of their abilities. No one and nothing can compromise them." Jim fired back.

"Colonel, you stated that you will prosecute anyone that attempts to influence the outcome of these proceedings but military officers have a tendency of retreating in the face of Congress and other elected representatives of the people, how can we be sure that you're genuine, that you won't retreat?"

"Retreat? Hell I just got here! I'm a Marine and as such there isn't a damn thing in this world or the next that can scare me off a position that I've taken." His shoulders seemed to grow creating a more imposing figure,

"Colonel, what do you intend to do if the aviators are guilty?" The voice was that of Chuck DePalma.

"Prosecute them to the fullest extent of military law." Jim fired right back.

"And if they're innocent?" DePalma wasn't backing down.

"Pin medals on their chest." Was Jim's short but succinct reply. In the SECNAV's office, Rear Admiral and current interim DCNO, AJ Chegwidden was thumping his chest. He'd left the office in good hands, even if they were coming out of Marine green sleeves. And Rabb and MacKenzie were right there, upholding the foremost values and lessons that he had instilled in them.

The COD neared the Teddy Roosevelt when Harm first started talking. "Who was that gruff and tough CO we left in Falls Church and what did he do with my friend Jim?" Harm smiled and looked over at Mac.

"You forgot that he was a Marine. Jim told me that being Chief of Staff was like being an Assistant Coach; you got to coddle the players. The second you have to sit in the big chair, you no longer have that luxury." Mac laughed as the COD landed on the air strip and the three of them prepared to step on to the Roosevelt. The LSO came over to greet them as they stepped on to the super-structure.

"Lieutenant Commander Rabb? Major MacKenzie?" The woman practically shouted over the sound of the propeller. The two officers nodded and shook her hand. "The Skipper wants to see you on the bridge." Harm and Mac followed the LSO to the bridge where they were no doubt, in for a sour welcome. Jim had informed them who the Skipper of the Roosevelt was; Captain Paul 'Duke' Wellington. Wellington had a steadfast reputation as a real Farragut kind of officer and commander.

"JAG on the bridge!" The Master at Arms called out as Harm and Mac made their way to the bridge. Harm and Mac came to attention in front of the Skipper. The rhythmic sound of their heels clicking together told the Skipper, who wasn't facing them that they had arrived.

"At ease. Well Commander, Major, are you as good as Jim Grant said or was he just blowing smoke up my, and the rest of the world's skirt?" Paul Wellington bore something of a resemblance to a younger Clint Eastwood.

"He said you'd ask that question, sir." Mac responded.

"Oh and what did he tell you to tell me?" Captain Wellington fired back.

"Words that it would be against regulations for me to say to a superior officer sir and might just make some of your sailors blush." Harm answered trying to sound as stoic as possible.

"Sounds like Jim knows what the hell he's doing. I'm going to be up front with the two of you. You have free range to interview any and all personnel on this ship and to review any and all equipment on this ship which you may feel necessary to your investigation. There is only one factor, I will not, at any point and for any reason other than his being charged, pull Captain Thomas out of the air, he will remain on flight status until and if your investigation should prove other steps are required." The Skipper's voice rose to a very clear and amplified level as he walked over to Harm and Mac.

"Will that be all sir?" Harm asked, unwilling to allow himself to get pushed any further.

"Yes, dismissed." The Skipper tossed them a dismissive wave and went back to his chair. Harm and Mac knew that they had to check into their assigned quarters before they did any investigating. Their guide through the interior of the ship was the PAO Ensign Maggie Ross.

"Sir, Ma'am, we're a little full up at the moment, we have some Kosovo refugees on board so quarters are a little full so the two of you will have to share a room and Lieutenant Roberts sir, I'm afraid you'll be hot-bunking with the Marines." The young Ensign seemed to sound apologetic but Bud didn't seem to enjoy the prospect at all.

Harm and Mac secured their bags and headed for the CAG's stateroom. Harm knocked on the door only to hear a hard tenor voice shout the word 'Enter!' right back at him. Harm and Mac walked through the door to find the man that everyone in the Navy had been reading about for much of the months before the latest incident. Captain Mitch Thomas was six-foot-one with hair the colour of a dull copper penny and piercing emerald eyes. Half of the medals on his chest were DFCs. He wore his blue 'Teddy Roosevelt' hat backward as he leaned over his desk.

"Welcome to the Rough Rider." Captain Thomas greeted them, shaking each of their hands.

"We've got to get to the bottom of this CAG. Now what happened that night?" Harm said as he sat down in a chair.

"We got a radio call in from the Big John around 1800 local and the Skipper told me to put my best flyers in the air to give them the support that they were asking for. So I grabbed _Nighthawk _and _Wolfman_ out of the mess and told them to make sure that they had their birds gassed up because we were going to the dance in a few minutes." The CAG went to continue but Mac stopped him.

"Nighthawk and Wolfman?" She asked so that she could get some clear identification.

"Nighthawk would be my wingman Lieutenant Commander TJ Hollinger and Wolfman would be our tail Lieutenant Commander Rob Robinson." The CAG informed her.

"Alright so you informed Lieutenant Commanders Hollinger and Robinson that you guys were due for a dog-fight, what happened next Captain?" Mac looked over at Bud who was recording the interview.

"We were heading away from the conflict when we pulled out of Greece so when we got the call to go dancing we had to come around after getting feet wet. Even after getting the call we had a fair distance to travel inland before we could meet the engagement but we weren't even feet dry when those Fulcrums came at us. We were still well out over the Med. They came at us battle-ready; Wolfman had them on his six like a bad case of haemorrhoids. The second Wolfman radioed me and told me that they had 'lock' I put in a call to go weapons-free."

"But preliminary reports say you didn't get the call to go weapons-free." Harm shot back at the aviator who was supporting his head with his hand.

"We were flying through one hell of a weather system; I wouldn't be surprised if something happened to fry my radio even though my plane showed no signs of a strike. It would explain why when I put out that UHF warning to the MiGs I didn't get a response. When I got a call from _Trapper_ that the Wolfman was getting his wings clipped by that MiG's guns, I flipped the UHF back on and gave my signature war cry and dove head on in. I dropped from Angels 30 to Angels 5 in a matter of seconds and pulled right up that MiG's six blowing him all to shit." The CAG's eyes were like some great green steel, completely emotionless.

"A few things, Captain. You said you flipped on the UHF to issue a warning to the MiG's exactly what was that warning?" Mac had zeroed in on that part of the conversation.

"Pretty standard. Identify yourselves and assume a friendly flight pattern or we'll be forced to treat as hostile." Mitch Thomas even shrugged his shoulders to compliment the indifference with which the statement was issued.

"Who's _Trapper_ CAG?" Harm asked as he leaned in off his chair,

"Lieutenant Jeffrey F.X McIntyre, Wolfman's RIO. Trapper sure was in control of that bird that night, Wolfman got his ass chewed out when he got back to the Ready Room. But Nighthawk was Sierra-Hotel that night; he splashed the last two bogeys. Me and Nighthawk went flying off to help the call that came in from the Kennedy but the Wolfman had to head on back, his engines were shot from being chased by that Fulcrum. His plane is still up for repairs, I had it held after the Skipper told me that those were Syrians not Serbs that we splashed." The CAG finished his story and pulled out a new pen for the upcoming flight schedule. "What happens now?"

"Well now we go chase down evidence and testimony that pertains to the incident." Mac replied as she, Harm and Bud came to attention.

"Dismissed." The CAG gave them the same flippant wave that the Skipper had given them when they were on the bridge.

"Well I don't particularly like the amount of care with which he seemed to deliver that story, the whole thing had the sterility of supply requisition but he didn't seem to be hiding anything." Harm commented as the two of them walked down the corridors of the ship.

"The whole thing sounded like a Flyboy playing Cowboy if you ask me." Mac retorted with a huff as they walked toward the officer's wardroom.

"Listen, there's no point in arguing, we won't know anything until we can get a look at both his Tomcat and Commander Robinson's Tomcat." Harm said as they walked into the wardroom to find the very two pilots they were looking for engaged in a rather heated game of euchre. "Commanders Hollinger and Robinson?" Harm questioned as he sat at the table.

"Who's askin'?" The one broader man with short chestnut hair replied.

"Commander Rabb and Major MacKenzie, we're here with the …"Harm was cut off by the taller blonde man.

"JAG corps, we know, Nighthawk here was just being a piss-ant." Commander Robinson replied.

"Well they're fucking lawyers, what the hell do they know about dogfights?" Commander Hollinger shot back.

"Commander Rabb here flew Tomcats off the Seahawk." Mac interjected hoping to stifle the indignation of the two men.

"That right? Well then you might actually have a brain in that fucking legal eagle head of yours." Hollinger said as he took the next trick.

"You'll have to excuse Nighthawk; he's been the CAG's wingman since flight school. He tends to get a little over-protective of him, all the Panthers do, especially _Temptress_." Commander Robinson pulled another chair over for him to kick his feet up on.

"_Temptress_?" Mac's inquisitive tone clearly insinuated what she was thinking. Commander Hollinger was about to say something when his euchre partner interrupted him.

"Lieutenant Jennifer Kraft and before you put the CAG's six in your crosshairs on a fraternization charge I think it's only fair to tell you that it's just a one way infatuation, she cares the world for him but the CAG is all business. He lives in his plane, in his stateroom or on the bridge; you'd be hard pressed to find him anywhere else." Commander Robinson was of the two officers, the more level headed one.

"So exactly what happened the night you guys downed those Syrian MiGs?" Harm asked like he was in the mood for a good fishing story.

"We encountered the MiGs before while we were still out over the Med; one caught my scent and fell in on my six. When I called the CAG and told him that the bogey on my six almost had me locked, _Phoenix_, that is, Captain Thomas, called in for weapons-free then opened the UHF channel and let out the war cry before coming down and blowing him out of the sky." Commander Robinson laughed a little under his breath.

"Commander this is the second time we've heard about this 'war cry', what is it exactly?" Bud interjected, there was something about this whole thing that seemed a little out of sorts.

"Lieutenant, the war cry of the Phoenix is legendary in the Adriatic theatre. The Skipper calls it a great screeching 'fuck off' to the enemy. But it can't be duplicated, it must be experienced." Commander Hollinger assumed his place in the conversation again with an understated laugh.

"So you were attacked and Captain Thomas responded to protect you, Commander Robinson?" Mac cut in.

"Saved my six ma'am, I just couldn't get my head into it that night, nearly got Trapper and myself killed. Of course Nighthawk here did his fair share to shake down those other two bogeys. If you want proof ma'am, you can go check out my plane, the tail, one of my afterburners and parts of my wings are shot to hell. It's a miracle I was able to trap." Robinson admonished.

"How did the CAG send you back home if his radio wasn't working?" Harm asked.

"He pulled up level with me and gave me the thumbs down, which meant I had to head home. I'd like to go write my wife if we're done here." Robinson got up from the table and when no one stopped him, he left the wardroom.

"Don't mind him; he's been kind of soft since he found out that he's about to miss out on the birth of his third child. You two are asking the wrong questions though, what you should be asking is what were Syrian MiGs doing that far over the Med, in the evening without us getting any word about it." Commander Hollinger started idly shuffling the cards in his hand.

"Commander, any idea how it is that one minute, the CAG's radio is working fine and then the next minute he can't manage to get in touch with the T.R. tower but you guys can hear the war cry over the UHF perfectly fine?" Harm had arrived at the impasse.

"Well Commander, either a lightning strike strafed Phoenix's regular radio channel or someone in T.R. tower cut off the CAG's radio." Hollinger looked smug.

"Well that begs the next question Commander, has the CAG been flying since the incident?" This question could add weight to the suspicions rolling in Harm's head.

"Yes sir, and his radio's been functioning fine." Commander Hollinger replied with a smug smile on his face.

"Thank you, Commander." With that the JAG officers got up out of their chairs and exited the wardroom. "Bud, go talk with the Maintenance crew Chief see if any work was done on the CAG's radio or if there were any lightning strikes, then report back to me before you go hot-bunking with the Marines tonight." Harm gave his friend a pat on the back before turning toward the Ship-to-shore phone.

"JAG Ops, Petty Officer Tiner speaking." The voice on the other end was a familiar sound of home.

"Tiner, it's Commander Rabb, get me Colonel Grant on the phone." Harm said as Mac waited patiently for an explanation as to what he was doing.

"Sir, Commander Rabb on line one." Tiner said into the intercom.

"City desk." The voice was Jim's

"Colonel, listen, I've got a sneaking suspicion that we're looking at something that's more than it appears. We need to know why those Syrians were flying over the Med, we need to know why the T.R didn't get a call from anyone warning them about non-participant jet aircraft in the area and we need to know why the CAG's aircraft had the most coincidental of coincidental radio malfunctions." Harm said with more than just a hint of sarcasm.

"Whose head do you want me to put through a wall?" Jim responded.

"Don't kill him, just talk to him." Harm tried to sound calming.

"Who?"

"Clayton Webb."


	9. Our Sacred Honour

A/N: The following contains course language and mature subject matter (PG-13)

After hearing Harm's explanation over the phone Jim Grant was fit to be tied. Those Eagles on his shoulders were screaming all over the greater DC area but it all came down to the fact that he was going to have to make the drive to Langley. Jim Grant held his military ID in his right hand and burst through every single security check point in CIA headquarters on his way to Clayton Webb's office.

When he finally reached the desk of Webb's secretary he paused for a moment. "Is Agent Webb in?" He asked through gritted teeth. Every vein in Jim's neck and face seemed to instantly double in size as he waited, impatiently for Webb's secretary to get an answer from the other end of the line.

"He's in conference." She replied innocently. That was it; those veins were near the breaking point. Jim laughed sardonically.

"Wrong answer." The Marine colonel raised his foot in the air and it came crashing down on the door to Clayton Webb's office. Jim charged in like a six-foot-three, two hundred eighteen pound, Marine green hurricane. "Afternoon Webb, you want to tell me exactly what op you managed to screw the pooch on this time that has two of my officers off on a wild goose chase!"

"Take it easy Colonel, there's nothing I can tell you at this moment, it's need to know." Webb didn't sound like he was being serious, that changed awfully quickly. The new interim JAG reached across Webb's desk and hauled him up by the collar.

"What you _need to know_ Mr. Webb is how many teeth the dentist is going to have to re-insert into your jaw when I get through with you. You also _need to know_ that I am at present the Judge Advocate General of the United States Navy and a very P.O'd Force Recon Marine Colonel. So _now_ is their anything you can de-classify?" There seemed to be a sort of nervous twitch working at Jim's right eyelid.

"The Syrians were going to turn over the sites of Hamas training camps to us in exchange for the ability to get past Israeli air detection. When they encountered Tomcats they must've thought that they were Israelis the same way our guys thought that they Syrians were Serbs. I was in Damascus and I put a call in to the Skipper of the T.R. and told him that if his boys were to encounter any MiGs before they were over dry land to not give them 'weapons-free'." Webb grimaced and prepared to lose teeth.

"Okay that's a good place to start; now you're going to hop on a COD out to the T.R. and tell that to Harm and Mac." Jim gave Webb a rather strong look.

"What? You've got to be kidding." Webb looked at him like he couldn't be serious.

"Listen you little shit! You're gonna grow a spine and a cock and act like a man for once in your life! Now you're either going to go willingly to the T.R. or I'm going to drag you there by the ear, what's it going to be?" The Marine Colonel reached his hand out and grabbed Webb by the ear.

"Okay, okay fine I'll go." Webb surrendered and raised his hands in the air.

"Good choice." Jim went to leave and pulled Clayton Webb along with him by the ear.

"I thought you said if I was willing to go, you weren't going to drag me there by the ear." Webb pleaded as he was dragged out of his office looking like and unruly child.

"Yeah but I don't trust you Clayton, I'm not letting go of your ear until I put you in a C-17 out of Andrews. I've also called ahead and given instructions for an MP in Naples to do the same thing until you are in the COD on your way to the T.R. And by the way, it's Colonel's privilege to change his mind." Jim smiled sarcastically as he dragged Webb into the parking lot outside CIA headquarters.

"How did you guys catch on to me anyway?" Webb asked, his curiosity getting the better of him.

"Something smelled like a rat Clay, and when something smells like a rat around JAG it means you haven't showered in days." Jim fired up his car and drove with the greatest expediency to Andrews.

A little under twenty four hours later, Clayton Webb stepped off the COD on to the T.R. where he was greeted by Harm and Mac. He wasn't exactly revelling in the idea of having to face the music on this one. "Well, well, I had a feeling that we'd be seeing you soon Webb." Harm had a very amused, arrogant smile on his face.

"You know I think I honestly prefer dealing with Chegwidden as your CO, he's a puppy dog compared to the German Shepherd you got sitting in the front office now." Webb was still holding his ear, he learned that a Marine Colonel never lies because when he got into Naples there was a Marine MP who rather unceremoniously reached out and pulled him over to a waiting COD on 'the Colonel's orders'.

"Well Webb, Colonel Grant told us largely what you'd told him now we just need you to repeat it for the record so that we can be sure that there are no foul-ups. We've already talked to the Skipper and he corroborates what you told the Colonel. So the second we can get your statement on the record you can have some time to yourself while you wait for tomorrow's COD." Mac smiled at him trying not to laugh at the reddened stretched ear that the CIA man was boasting.

"Unfortunately you're going to have to hot-bunk with the Marines tonight; those are the only quarters available." Actually quarters had become available last night when Commander Robinson got sent for a PTSD examination in Naples but Harm made sure Bud got those quarters so Webb would have to hot-bunk it with the Marines.

"Is there anyway that I can make it back to Naples tonight?" Webb protested obviously uncomfortable with the idea.

"Well Harm could always take you home in an F-14." Mac suggested.

"Hot-bunking it is then." Clay resolved as Harm had an annoyed expression on his face. Harm and Mac took Clay up to the officer's wardroom to conduct the interview. Bud stood in the corner with a tape recorder taking down everything that Webb said. He focused on the part about the Hamas camps and Israeli air defence and the especially important part of talking to the Skipper about not responding to the CAG's request for 'weapons-free'.

"Well I think we've got about all we need. Between Webb's testimony, the Skipper's testimony, the maintenance reports on the two planes and the testimonies of everyone in the air that night, I think we can safely say that Captain Mitch Thomas committed no wrongdoing in shooting down those Syrian MiGs that night." Harm smiled.

"There's something to that smile, Harmon Rabb, what twisted little thought is running through your head? Or were you just undressing me with your eyes again?" Mac smiled which caused him to laugh.

"Actually I only do that, when you're not looking." He smiled and she took on a look of mock-offence. "I was just thinking about what you said the other day about Captain Thomas just being a Flyboy who wanted to play Cowboy."

"Yeah I suppose I was wrong." Mac looked disappointed. "Come on; let's go give the CAG the good news." The two of them walked side by side to the CAG's stateroom. The hatch was closed and Harm knocked to see if the CAG was in.

"Enter, if you've got good news, run if you don't." The voice of the CAG came through the hatch. Harm opened the hatch and let Mac in first before following her in. "Oh, Lieutenant Commander Rabb, Major MacKenzie my apologies it's just been a long day. Half of my Panthers are down with food poisoning from the Chicken Cacciatore last night."

"That's what that was? I thought it was grilled shoelaces?" Harm joshed back.

"Yeah well with our galley I wouldn't exactly be surprised. So anyway, what can I do for the two of you today?" The CAG sat down in his chair with something of a weak grin on his face.

"Well CAG, we determined that the downing of those Syrian MiGs was due to a political miscalculation more than it was your fault even though your Panthers were the ones who put them in the drink." Harm smiled and a wash of relief came over Captain Thomas as all the tension in his body seemed to slip from him.

"This certainly is a relief, I don't know what I'd do if they took my wings. Come on you two, lunch is on me." With that the three of them got up to leave the CAG's stateroom when a call from the bridge rang through the phone in his room. "One second folks…uh huh…uh huh…Now?...Yes sir, I'll get right on it." Captain Thomas looked at Harm and Mac. "You two are going to have to come to the bridge with me." The three officers rushed through the insides of the carrier making a hasty attempt to get to the bridge.

"CAG on the bridge!" The Master at arms called out as Captain Thomas along with Harm and Mac made their way up to see the Skipper.

"What've we got Skipper?" The CAG asked as he caught his breath.

"We just got an urgent call in from the 121st Marines, they're pinned down with some Canadians in a clearing twenty miles inside Kosovo, Marine Cobras were dispatched to lend assistance but the Cobras got chased down by some MiGs, I need your Panthers in the air for support CAG." Paul Wellington's face looked grave.

"Sir, half of the Panthers are down, I can only put forth four pilots and five RIOs and that last RIO isn't going to do us a damn bit of good unless…Lieutenant Commander Rabb, grab a flight suit and a helmet because you're flying with the Panthers this wonderful Wednesday afternoon." The CAG turned around only to see Harm smiling widely and sticking his chest out as if to draw attention to the gold wings on his chest.

"Aye, aye sir." Harm smiled and headed off to the ready room. Mac frowned slightly, she really didn't like the thought of Harm flying, especially not in a dogfight.

"_Nighthawk, Temptress, Archangel and Trapper _all of you to the Ready Room now and make sure you've got your RIOs with you." The CAG shouted over the intercom. He turned toward Mac. "Is there anything particularly embarrassing that you've ever called him that we can use as a call sign for this mission?" The CAG looked with concern and humour at the JAG officer.

"I called him Stickboy a few times." Mac replied trying not to look at the CAG.

"Thanks, Major." With that the CAG hurried off the bridge toward the Ready Room.

"Don't worry about your friend Major. We got a little rhyme aboard the Rough Rider. 'No Navy pilot dies, who flies in Phoenix's skies." The Skipper assured her. Mac looked honestly worried, like her and Harm had grown so close recently and this was going to take him from her. Bud on the other hand looked like he was going to get the play-by-play for the coolest thing ever.

Down in the Ready Room, the Panthers were suiting up for yet another dance. The CAG took his place at the front of the room with Harm standing next to him. "Alright ladies listen up. We got ourselves another dance to go to but this time we're gonna be without the Wolfman. Standing in for Wolfman is going to be a guest star, Lieutenant Commander Harmon '_Stickboy'_ Rabb." The Panthers all got a laugh at the call sign _I'll get Mac back for that one_. Harm thought. "_Stickboy _you'll be paired up with _Trapper_ for this one, be good to each other and to that bird and I might just buy a round on the next liberty. Alright, intelligence says we're looking at a real fight, we're only going to have five birds up there so we're looking at a 2 v 1, the Serbs have eleven birds harassing our Cobras and we're gonna knock out everyone of them aren't we Panthers?"

"Hell yeah!" Was chorused through the room. The pilots made their way out of the ready room and on to the deck to their birds. Harm threw himself in behind the stick and Trapper slid in behind him. "What was the last carrier you flew off of sir?" Trapper asked.

"The Reprisal, a few months ago." Harm said back.

"Good, cause I real don't feel like having to bail out another nose gunner this week." Trapper shot back.

The CAG was the first lined up to catapult off the deck. _"Rough Rider tower this is PantherFire1, pre-flight checklist is complete and we're ready to go save some trapped leathernecks and Canucks."_

_"Roger that, PantherFire1 you are clear." _ Came the response. The catapult launched the Tomcat into the air and the CAG went up and flew a holding pattern waiting for his wingman and Harm. Eventually both _Stickboy _ and _Nighthawk _were in the air with _Phoenix _and off to save the Marines.

_"Stickboy, this is Phoenix, how you feelin' behind that stick Commander, you haven't gotten forgetful have you?"_ The CAG laughed into his radio.

_"Phoenix, you'll be singing a different tune when I save your six from some of those MiGs_." Harm's comment got a laugh from the entire squad and a big laugh from the Roosevelt Bridge. Mac just has her eyes closed just begging God to let Harm come home in one piece.

_"If there's going to be any saving done this afternoon I'll be the one doing it, they don't call me the Nighthawk for nothing, Stickboy." _ Commander Hollinger's deep voice was heard over the frequency.

_"We only called you that at the Academy cause you used to hide under the bunks of female Midshipmen_." The CAG joshed his wingman.

_"We're coming up to Angels 10 CAG." _ Temptress called over the radio.

_"Thanks for the reminder Temptress, I wasn't sure if it was the altitude addling my mind or that perfume you were wearing this morning._" The CAG's comment caused Harm to laugh.

"Alright Panthers stop playing grab-ass out there and get down to business will you?" The Skipper called over the radio.

_"Aye, aye Skipper."_ The CAG responded.

_"Phoenix, we're coming up to the target area, directions?" _ Commander Hollinger once again made his presence known.

_"Yeah, Nighthawk you take Temptress and Stickboy on the present course, Archangel and I are going cloud dancing."_ With that two of the F-14s broke formation and climbed quickly. _"CAG calling in Skipper, the trap is set, locked and loaded."_

"Godspeed CAG." Paul Wellington called over the radio. Bud was on the edge of his seat. Mac was calming her nerves, she was trying to remember that there was a point where this is what Harm always did.

_"Phoenix, we have a visual, looks like those MiGs are hitting those Cobras pretty hard. Phoenix, we've been spotted, over." _Harm said as he readied himself for a dogfight like he'd been dreaming of since his ramp strike.

_"Thanks for that Stickboy. Alright boys and girls, this is it. Permission to go weapons-free Skipper?"_ The CAG made sure to radio in.

"Do what you have to do to save those Marines, CAG." Captain Wellington responded.

_"Aye, aye Skipper. Switching over to UHF._" The CAG changed the frequency.

All radios went to UHF for what had become a favourite moment of any dogfight aboard the T.R. "Here we go." The X.O. said as he stood next to Captain Wellington on the bridge.

_"EEEEEEEEYYYYYYYYYYAAAAAAOOOOOOO!"_ A loud screeching sound came over the radio like the sound of a great mythic bird. Those unprepared nearly jumped out of their skin. The CAG's F-14 came diving out of the clouds with _Archangel_ hot on his wing. The CAG got radar lock on one of the MiGs and with a quick missile launch he recorded one confirmed, no parachute. Phoenix flew behind the flaming explosion and emerged out the other side making it look as though he'd gone through the flame.

_"And that ladies and germs is why we call him Phoenix." _ The voice of Commander Hollinger cut in for a little colour commentary. Phoenix and Archangel broke off going after their own new targets.

_"Watch your six Phoenix; you got some hot-shot stick jockey that's looking at you like you're a T-Bone at a dog show." _ Harm said as he brought his plane in behind the MiG that was getting dangerously close to the CAG's six. _"Target acquired." _ Harm mumbled in to the radio.

_"Good, knock him out of the sky, Stickboy."_ The CAG ordered. The plane the Harm had locked on to erupted into a ball of flame after Harm let the guns loose on him. _"We got a parachute with that one Stickboy?"_

_"Negative Phoenix, no chute."_ Harm replied as he dove off to join _Archangel _and _Nighthawk_ in the thick of it.

_"Congratulations Stickboy, you just got your first confirmed as a Panther._" The CAG locked on his target and opened fire with his guns earning himself his second confirmed of the fight. Following in Harm's footsteps, the CAG dropped down to the main fight. _"How many bogeys we got left people?_"

_"Six, Phoenix, we're down from eleven though, so we should be shaping up for our final run soon."_ Harm replied as he and _Archangel _went off in a pursuit of a MiG that was presenting an immediate threat to a Cobra. _"Can you get a lock on him Archangel_ _or do you need me to do it?" _

_"He's shakin', rattlin' and rollin' Stickboy, you think you can calm him down so I can get back to the dance?"_ Lieutenant Mark _Archangel_ Angel asked.

_"I'll take this one; you go down and make sure Nighthawk isn't in over his head."_ Harm replied as he zeroed in on another target. Below Harm's position the regular Panthers were dancing with the remaining five MiGs knowing that they'd have to knock off at least two more before the last three headed home. When Harm took out his second bogey it was Temptress' voice that came over the radio.

_"Looks like you might not win the Sierra-Hotel award for this fight, Phoenix._"

_"We'll see; I've got one in the corner of my eye, he's low, looks like he's gonna try and make a ground run at those Marines. Why don't I see if I can knock him off before he gets there?"_ The CAG pulled a seven G turn and fell in behind the approaching MiG too fast to see a second bogey descend out of the clouds behind him

The CAG repeated the same old drill, trying to keep the Tomcat in pattern behind the MiG so he could acquire a lock on the target but this time he heard a familiar voice come in over the radio. _"CAG you got major league company, bogey on your six and closing in fast."_ The urgency in Harm's voice was enough to alarm everyone on the bridge back at the T.R.

"Rabb, you bring the CAG back, I can't have a squad of angry Panthers tearing up my ship, depressed over the loss of their beloved CAG." The Skipper's tone was firm and authoritative.

_"Roger that Skipper. You ready to dance with a few Serbs, Trapper?"_ Harm addressed his RIO.

"_You really gotta ask twice, sir?"_ Trapper's voice shot back. Harm pulled the plane off to the left in the perfect execution of a nine G turn to fall in behind the CAG.

"_Alright Phoenix, I'll be there in a few seconds, down your bogey then get out of there or you're going to be a sitting duck."_

The CAG's guns rang through the dogfight, wounding the MiG he was pursuing but the wise pilot sitting in the MiG cockpit must have figured he'd suffered enough damage because he ejected from the plane. The CAG pulled back on the stick going into a rapid climb but the MiG was still in hot pursuit, luckily for the CAG, Harm was in hot pursuit of the MiG.

The MiG's guns tried desperately to clip the CAG's wings with no success, the CAG swung back and forth barely evading the guns. _"I only got one trick left in the old arsenal. Let's see if she works, think you can follow me Stickboy, because he's gonna be tight on my six?"_

_"I'll take anything you throw at me Phoenix."_ Harm responded as he saw the CAG invert his Tomcat and then go into a dive. The MiG followed suit giving Harm a split second window of opportunity to hit the entire surface of the aircraft. Harm switch over to his Aim 54 missile, ironically also named 'Phoenix', locked on and he nailed the MiG right behind the canopy, instantly incinerating the entire aircraft.

_"Wooo, that sure was one pretty fireworks show you put on there Stickboy." _ The CAG laughed into the radio.

_"I told you I'd save your six today, Phoenix._" Harm joshed right back.

"Phoenix I have a message from Major MacKenzie that she wants you to pass on to Commander Rabb." The familiar voice of Captain Wellington commanded the airwaves. "She says that if his ego gets any bigger, you and the Panthers have her expressed permission to take him below deck and knock it down a few sizes."

_"Message received Skipper. You hear that Stickboy, your girlfriend just gave me and the Panthers permission to give you an ego deflation._" A wave of laughing Panthers took over the radio.

"CAG, I have a second message from Major MacKenzie, she says if you refer to her as _Stickboy_'s girlfriend one more time she's going to get the Marines to keel-haul you." This time even Captain Wellington managed to laugh. "Alright, now let's hear it, how's the dogfight look CAG?"

_"All over but the crying Skipper, nine MiGs down, one by ejection the other eight are all confirmed no chute. Two went running back to the coup."_ The five Tomcat pilots fell into formation for the flight back to the T.R.

"That's good; bring the ladies home from the dance Phoenix." The Skipper handed the radio over to the LSO. Soon the Panthers were coming back; _Temptress_ was the first to touch down catching the number two wire; after _Temptress_, _Archangel _came in also catching the number two and _Nighthawk_ followed him catching the number three wire. Soon Harm and the CAG were the only two pilots left in the air.

"Phoenix, you gotta pull runner-up duty today. Commander Rabb was the Sierra-Hotel winner, which means he gets the hero's welcome of coming in last." The Skipper radioed in from the bridge. The CAG pulled off toward the T.R. and touch his bird down perfectly on the number two wire. "Alright _Stickboy_, get'er down, we're wasting daylight!"

Harm began his approach to the T.R. _"Rough Rider, one, zero, five, Tomcat, Ball 2.5." _

"One, zero, five, Tomcat, Rodger Ball." The LSO acknowledged.

_"Tailhook down."_ _Trapper_ informed Harm. Harm brought the Tomcat in on the glide path tripping the second wire just like he'd never left active duty. "Just like riding a bike, isn't it, sir?" _Trapper_ pulled his mask off. Harm and _Trapper_ got out of the plane only to find a welcoming party of Panthers waiting for them.

"You've have got to be one of the craziest son-of-a-bitch pilots I've ever met…and you can fly with me and the Panthers any time _Stickboy._" The CAG stepped out from the crowd and shook Harm's hand.

"Well CAG, after flying a desk for the last little while it felt damn good to get back in the cockpit." Harm smiled.

"That's 'cause you remembered what it was like in the real Navy." The CAG smiled and crossed his arms across the front of his chest. "Come on, we got a party to get to and there's a pretty little Marine Major who says you owe her a dance." Harm walked back to the Ready Room with the Panthers to get out of his flight suit and into his uniform.

In the Wardroom, Mac and Bud were sitting at the table waiting for the Panthers to come in and join them and the Skipper. The CAG stepped in and made a weird trumpeting noise. "Presenting the man of the hour….Stickboy!" The Panthers all laughed and clapped as Harm led them into the wardroom.

Mac leapt out of her chair and threw her arms around Harm's neck. "You're just determined to make me worry about breaking in a new partner aren't you?"

"Well after you told the CAG that Stickboy thing, I figured I had to get you back somehow." He smiled as he gave her a quick squeeze while she was still hugging him. The party went on for hours, the Panthers brought out anything and everything that they had managed to get aboard ship, there was loud music, poker, dancing (if you can call it that), and even some alcohol. Around 2130, Harm followed a familiar route out to the one place where he had a clear head, Vulture's Row.

Harm opened the hatch only to find a familiar presence leaning on the rail. "People say you never leave your stateroom or if you do, you prefer to go to the bridge to watch the planes." Harm said as he walked over and leaned on to the railing next to the CAG.

"Can't smoke on the bridge." The CAG smiled; in his teeth was a cigar. He reached into his breast pocket and pulled out another cigar. He handed it to Harm along with the lighter. "You know Commander, that was some damn fancy shooting out there today."

"Thank you sir." Harm bit off the end of the cigar and let it drop to his feet.

"With _Wolfman_ out of commission until he clears his psych evaluation I sure could use a good aviator, know any?" The CAG's attempt at subtlety was not lost on Harm.

"Can't; night-blindness prevents me from being any good at night." Harm shot back.

"You forget, I'm the CAG, I say when you go up. I'd only need you for a few weeks, until either _Wolfman _gets back or, if he can't come back, we can clear a pilot from Miramar or Pax River." The CAG let out a puff of smoke.

"It sounds like a hell of an opportunity." Harm seemed to have a very serious look on his face.

"God knows the Panthers like you, hell I don't think _Trapper_ will ever be the same again after the back-seater he took this afternoon." The two men shared a laugh as the light from the moon took a glint off the CAG's sunglasses.

"You know what CAG; I'll think it over good and hard, you'll have my answer first thing tomorrow morning." Harm lit his cigar.

"Good to hear. Now Commander, I got to ask, what's going on with you and the Major, seriously, aviator to aviator?" The CAG smirked as he looked out to sea.

"I have no damn idea." Harm huffed as he took a puff of his cigar.

"It seems you and I are in similar situations than." The CAG pulled his cigar out of his mouth sandwiching it between his index and middle fingers.

"_Temptress_?" Harm's curiosity peaked.

"Sometimes I forget how fast scuttlebutt moves on a carrier." The CAG laughed under his breath.

"Yeah well word is CAG, at least from the Panthers, the Phoenix really lights her fire; Lieutenant Angel's words not mine." Harm smiled around the cigar.

"Yeah well, not a damn thing I can do about it; shame too with the way that girl's put together. The Skipper says that the Major was a little edgy with you up in the air this afternoon." The CAG retorted, trying to shift the focus back on Harm.

"Yeah well, just a friendly level of concern, I'm sure." Harm laughed sarcastically.

"You just like feeding yourself cock and bull stories or do you actually believe that?" The CAG sounded surprised.

"It's the truth, trust me." Harm protested.

"Don't piss in my ear and tell me it's raining." The CAG laughed. "Listen Commander, as long as you've flown with me off the T.R. and you're on board, you're one of my pilots, with you and the Major being technically in different chains of command, if you catch my meaning."

"Hey I don't know CAG, you think you could spell it out for me?" Harm sounded sarcastic.

"Just get back to the party smart ass." The CAG gave Harm a pat on the back as he went through the hatch and made his way back to the party. The Panthers were trying their hardest to get Bud liquored up and they were for the most part, succeeding. Bud was stumbling around the wardroom singing an off key version of Tom Jones' _Delilah_. Harm walked into the wardroom silently, not even drawing the notice of the Panthers he silently skulked over to Mac.

"Hey, you think we can go somewhere and talk?" Harm looked seriously into her eyes.

"Yeah…sure." Mac followed him out of the wardroom and back to their quarters. Harm closed the hatch behind them and Mac felt a chill suddenly fill the room. "Harm, what's going on?" She crossed her arms across her chest in an attempt to look Marine tough, but nothing could hide the fear, the concern in those big brown eyes.

"Mac, I was just talking to the CAG out on Vulture's Row. He offered me a spot on the cruise for the next little while, said he'd work with my night-blindness only give me day patrols." Harm was talking fast, like he was trying to explain a bad action.

"For how long?" She pursed her lips together.

"A few weeks at the most, listen Mac; I figured you should be the first to know that I…:" He was cut off by a ranting Marine.

"Why are you telling me this Harm? I mean who am I to you? Just another friend, why not tell Bud or the Admiral or Jim? Or what is it you figured I'd give you a 'uniquely female' send-off, is that it?" She walked toward him in a sort of mock seduction marked by the over-exaggerated swaying of her hips. "Is that what you figured Flyboy? That I'd be so overcome by your leaving and so turned on by the fact that we wouldn't share a command that I'd just give into you?" She pushed her hips up against his mid-section like she was trying to prove her point. "That I'd just throw you up against a bulkhead and plunge my tongue down your throat?" This action would prove to be Mac's undoing in her little tirade.

She did kiss him, she kissed him hard, right on the lips, but what she wasn't expecting was him to kiss her back. She lost her anger at that moment; this man had that effect on her. She wrapped her arms around his neck and gently combed through his hair with her fingers. He turned her around so it was her that was up against the wall in their quarters. Mac stepped into him, still trying to trigger his arousal, something she did with great success. She could feel it pressing up against her and causing her to let out a moan. "Ha…Harm." She got out as his lips worked their way down to her neck.

"Sarah, beautiful Sarah." He whispered in her ear. He could feel every impulse in his body telling him that this was what he wanted but his mind and his heart told him that what he was doing, it wasn't right. "Mac, wait."

"So I'm back to Mac now? What happened to 'beautiful Sarah'? Or am I only beautiful Sarah when I'm pinned between your hard-on and a bulkhead?" Mac shot back, the use of her nickname and the guilty look in his eyes when he paused was all the evidence she'd needed.

"Mac, you can't honestly think that." Harm sounded surprised and offended.

"I can't honestly think what? Use your head counsellor and I mean the one above your belt. You come down here to tell me that you're going to be on this ship for the next while, which means you won't be coming back to the States tomorrow and if Captain Thomas and his Travelling Aviation Show decide you should become a permanent part of their team, it means that you had every intention of starting something tonight that you couldn't follow through on, tomorrow or any time after." Mac's voice was at a good boom as Harm took a seat on his rack.

"What happened when I wanted more that morning in your apartment when I came over for the Russian translation, Mac? You seemed to be just fine with a quickie that morning and than you'd go back to your big civilian firm and I'd feel like someone who was used and tossed. Did you even realize that I felt like hell when I said those words before I left your apartment and you just sat there and did nothing." This was no longer a misunderstanding, she'd insulted him, in all the time they'd known each other, he figured she knew him better than this. "God Mac, I was going to say that I wanted you to be the first one to know that I was going to turn the offer down because I belong at JAG now, but if you honestly think that I'm some kind of chauvinistic prick who was just going to use you for tonight then I might as well stay here and clear my head before heading back."

"Harm, I didn't mean…I meant what I said at the time because I was angry and afraid at the time. When you were up in the air today, I just felt so much like I was going to lose you and there was nothing I could do to save you. I know that you used to fly and I know that the DFC on your chest isn't for an uncanny ability to upgrade to first class but when I'm not there to save you I feel helpless." The look in her eyes softened and the hard look that had been in his eyes died down too.

"If that's true, than what was with the kiss?" He looked playfully into her eyes, his eyebrows giving her that 'oh really' look.

"Well originally it was just to show you how much of a prick I thought you were being. Then it was to tease you with a reason to come back to JAG after you got done being another Flyboy playing Cowboy, that's all it was though, just a tease, granted it did get a little out of control." Mac was smiling, a full smile, all her teeth showing as Harm started to chuckle.

"So what, you were trying to tell me that you wanted to ensure that you were the only girl I thought about while I was here? The one I thought about on my lonely nights at sea. The one I fantasized to if I ever decided to 'take matters into my own hands'." His use of the air-quotes allowed Mac to get his meaning right away and give him a playful slap on the shoulder.

"Harmon Rabb! What are you twelve?" The two of them laughed. "Now I think I want you to stay on the cruise, just so I can tell all the girls back at the office that I'm the one you're thinking and fantasizing about." Mac's lips did cute thing that Harm loved to watch. He went to say something back when a very loud obnoxious voice came through the hatch.

"Oh will you two just fuck already!" Harm opened the hatch to see the entire Panthers squadron and Bud Roberts standing outside their quarters. The CAG was standing off to the side, stone cold sober unlike his squad and laughing his ass off.

"CAG who was it that decided they should shout into my quarters at this hour?" Harm asked looking suspiciously at _Trapper, Archangel _and _Nighthawk_ who were trying their darnedest not to break into hysterics. The CAG cleared his throat and pointed down to the place where a very inebriated Bud Roberts had passed out. "You've got to be kidding me?" Harm looked shocked when the CAG shook his head. "Mac, you've got to come out here and see this."

Mac came walking through the hatch to see Bud passed out on the floor. She raised a hand to her mouth to stifle laughter. "The sound of the propellers for the COD at 0800 tomorrow morning are going to be hell on his hangover."

"Yeah, I think we should probably not tell Harriet what he just shouted into to our quarters just now." Harm laughed as he leaned against the hatch.

"That was him?" There was no stifling the laugh that came out of Mac's mouth.

"CAG, you think the Panthers can make sure that he gets back to quarters alright?" Harm smiled as he nodded toward his superior officer.

"Sure and Commander about the offer I made earlier, forget about it, I know what your answer is." With that the CAG and _Nighthawk_ picked Bud up off the floor and took him to his quarters.

Morning came fast; Harm and Mac got up, ate and got dressed. They made sure they had everything they needed before they went out to meet Bud, Webb and the COD out on the flight deck. Webb and Bud filed into the COD first leaving Harm and Mac standing on the flight deck as a bunch of hungover Panthers came out to see them off. The CAG and _Temptress_ walked up to Harm and Mac with a few presents for them.

"Rabb, to thank you for saving my sorry six yesterday, me and the Panthers decided you should have this." The CAG handed him a badge that read _Panthers; War Cruise '98_.

"And this." _Temptress_ pulled a helmet out from behind her back that had the name _Stickboy_ written on it with the decal of an angry tree. "And for Major MacKenzie, well the present here was my idea but it kind of has to be delivered woman to woman so if you two could skedaddle." The two men laughed, Harm ducked into the COD and the CAG went over and rejoined the Panthers as _Temptress _pulled Mac aside.

"Listen ma'am I know we didn't talk much, but if you could just listen up for a second I'd really appreciate it. You and I are in the same position; we're in love with men we work with. Except in my case it's my boss and there's nothing I can do about it without hurting his career. In your case you have some real options and you'd be a fool not to consider them." _Temptress _finished and let out a heavy breath.

"Thank you Lieutenant, you've given me something to really think about." Mac shook the aviator's hand and climbed on to the COD. The helicopter pulled out of sight and the Panthers waved good by to the JAG officers.

"What was your gift?" Harm said as he tried to catch her eyes.

"A friendly piece of advice." Mac laughed a little as she thought.

"About what?"

"Life." Mac laughed as Harm realized he wasn't going to get anything out of her. One thing was for sure, the two officers would never forget their time aboard the Theodore Roosevelt, they both had something of significance to take away from the experience.


	10. Yesterday's Heroes

A/N: I just realized I haven't really thanked all those who reviewed. Thanks guys! It lights up my days when you guys click that little purple button and tell me how much you like the story. Here's a nice Shipper chapter to show my gratitude.

"What're you watching?" Harm strolled into the Admiral's office where Jim was still taking up residence as the JAG until the Admiral got back from his business on Capitol Hill.

"C-SPAN, the Admiral's really taking it to the House Armed Services Committee, he's got the Majority Leader on the ropes and he's just hammering away at him." Jim said with a maniacal smile. Harm sat down and the two men shared a bowl of popcorn and watched the Admiral fire off answers at the cynical committee.

"What kind of example are the two of you setting? The JAG and his Chief of Staff just sitting around the office watching television." Mac barged into the office and tried to sound indignant.

"Ease up Mac, here sit down and have some popcorn with us." Harm offered her the bowl, never taking his eyes off the TV.

"No that's okay I just had lunch. Besides, unlike you two, I still have work to do." Mac smiled and laughed as she opened the door to walk out.

"Whatever you say sweet thing." Harm tossed back causing Mac to look at him as if she was surprised as well as annoyed.

"What did you just say Commander?" Mac sounded indignant, almost like she was about to strangle Harm.

"Hey! Simmer down, the pair of you. I don't want the next Navy Times headline to read _'Interim JAG allows crazed Marine to kill cocky flyboy.'"_ Jim sounded serious as he put some more popcorn in his mouth.

"You're of course right, Colonel. I, unlike my colleague will, remain professional here at JAG." Mac saluted, Jim returned the salute and Mac walked out of the office.

"I wonder what that was about?" Harm looked confused.

"What did you do this time Harm?" Jim tossed him a 'cut the innocent flyboy crap' look.

"Nothing, it was nothing really." Harm made one last attempt to sound ignorant.

"It must have been a whole lot of nothing to get her to act like that." Jim shot back. "Harm, go fix whatever it is you screwed up before I have you pull six month's duty as a ship's JAG on a submarine."

"Aye, aye sir." Harm saluted quickly and went running out of the office after Mac. Jim threw himself back into the Admiral's chair and held his head in his hand slowly reaching down to punch the intercom button.

"Tiner?" He frustratingly grunted into the box.

"Yes, sir?" Tiner's cautious voice replied.

"Aspirin, Tiner." The Colonel replied with a heavy sigh.

Harm ran across the bullpen to Mac's office, her blinds were down. He pulled a Kleenex off Bud's desk and brought it with him. He knocked on Mac's door timidly awaiting a response. "Who's there?" Harm opened the door enough to stick his hand in and wave the tissue.

"I come in peace, please don't hurt me, oh great strong Marine." Harm laughed as he tried to sound scared.

"Fine, come in." Mac still sounded angry and annoyed.

"Sorry Marine, I just kind of thought I should maybe think up a nickname for you, you know like the way you always call me 'flyboy'?" He tossed her a smile hoping maybe he'd lighten her up just a little bit.

"So you decided to call me 'sweet thing' in front of our CO?" Mac's voice was caustic.

"It's just Jim; he wouldn't have put any stock in it if you hadn't gotten all official. Besides, you've called me 'flyboy' in front of the Admiral." Harm smiled, hoping that this was all that was bugging her.

"Maybe you're right, I guess, I don't know, it must have just caught me off guard." She explained, babbling a little as she tried to hide her embarrassment for flying off the handle.

"Well, all this means is now is that I have something to call you when you call me flyboy." He responded with a playful smile.

"Harm, why Sweet Thing?" She looked confused but cute as she tried to get into his head.

"Call it an observation made from taste-testing." He smiled at her, that smile that always overcame her and made her weak in the knees.

"Sir, ma'am, the Colonel wants to see us in his office." Bud stuck his head into Mac's office.

"Shall we get going Lieutenant Commander Flyboy?" Mac had a cute smile tugging at her lips.

"Absolutely Major Sweet Thing." Harm got out of his chair and started walking out of the office with Mac right behind him.

"Sir, did you just call Major MacKenzie, Major Sweet Thing?" Bud looked confused and Harm smiled and chuckled.

"He certainly did Bud." Mac replied, giving into the smiled that was threatening her lips. Bud looked even more confused as the three of them entered the big office. There they saw Jim hunched over the Admiral's desk with Clayton Webb standing in front of it, in his usual suit.

"I believe the three of you are acquainted with Agent Webb, consistently imposing asshole." Jim smiled as he looked up from his paperwork and Webb looked offended.

"Consistently imposing asshole?" Webb asked.

"Yeah, C.I.A." Jim laughed as he leaned back in his chair.

"In any case. A Navy frigate is suspected to have sunk the yacht 'Tropical Paradise' off the coast of Florida yesterday. The yacht belongs to one Enrique Mendoza, a very big time diplomat in the agriculture world in South America." Webb sounded arrogant as he tried to fill them in.

"His son, Bronco, just happens to be a very big player in the drug world in North America." Harm shot back.

"However…"Clay started before being cut off.

"Did the frigate miss the boat?" Jim questioned.

"We don't know." Clay tried to sound scolding.

"Is Bronco Mendoza still alive?" Mac used her best cross-examination voice.

"Yes." Clay answered, starting to get annoyed.

"Then we missed." Harm interjected.

"Colonel, can you hear the attitude of your people?" Clay sounded like a whining child.

"Are you implying that I'm getting old and losing my hearing Mr. Webb?" Jim got out of his chair, his voice raised, his imposing stature lording him over Webb.

"No Colonel, I…I…I…I" Webb was stammering and the old Recon Marine just couldn't resist the urge to screw with his head.

"St…st…st…stop stammering and spit out boy!" The Colonel was repressing some serious laughter as were Harm, Mac and Bud.

"Well Colonel, we just need to know that JAG is going to investigate this without stepping on any State Department toes." Webb looked so small next to Colonel Grant. But when Jim had motioned for Harm to stand up on the other side of Webb, he looked even smaller sandwiched between the two officers. "Oh and I bring a message from the Director, Colonel. He says that he apologizes for misleading JAG in their investigation on the Roosevelt, it was all just one big misunderstanding."

"I knew the director would see it my way." With a smile, Jim waved sarcastically at Clay as he left the office. "Alright, you heard the spook get your sixes down to Miami, bust a drug lord, find out if we're responsible for sinking his ship and get some sun while you're at it. Don't worry about the diplomatic BS, I'll handle it. We clear?"

"Aye, aye sir." The three officers came to attention and were dismissed from their CO's office with a flippant wave. The three officers headed back to their respective offices or desks.

"Bud, I got the tickets!" Harriet beamed as she came walking into the office. Bud looked at her confused. "To go see my parents? Bud you forgot!"

"No, I mean I didn't forget it's just that I have to go on an investigation with the Commander and the Major." Bud covered.

"Bud, the tickets are non-refundable." Harriet's look had gone from exuberant to deflated in a matter of seconds.

"I'll pay you back for them, it's the least I can do." Bud tried to cover but Harriet stormed off for the break-room which had been raided by the Marines. Mac and Jim sat at the coffee table talking over coffee when Harriet stormed in.

"Something wrong Ensign Sims?" Colonel Grant looked up from his mug at the young Naval officer who had stormed into the break room. She just huffed and poured herself a cup of Mac's Marine strength coffee.

"Harriet, what's wrong?" Mac asked sympathetically.

"I thought Marines were supposed to be tough?" Harriet asked not wanting to talk about it.

"Who's a Marine, I'm Jim this is Mac, and we're your friends trying to help you out." The normally tough CO seemed to soften up for a minute.

"It's Bud, he was supposed to meet my parents this week, but he says that he has to go on an investigation with the Major and the Commander." Harriet was pouting.

"He does Harriet, I'm sorry but Bud's one of my best and when duty calls he goes. Besides I can't say I exactly blame him for being hesitant. God knows my in-laws never took a shine to me and Harm's just lucky that he met Matt O'Hara in a situation where he got to show off his best attributes and impress the hell out of him." Jim bit his tongue before he could say any more, Mac looked at him like he'd just said the most surprising thing on this earth. "I think I'd better be going; Harriet would you like Commander Rabb and I to have a talk with Bud about it?"

"Would you sir?" Harriet looked hopefully up at her CO who nodded in the affirmative and smiled before leaving the break-room. "Ma'am I was so looking forward to this trip. It's been so long since I've been to Naples."

"Your parents live in Italy?" Mac looked quizzical.

"No ma'am, Naples Florida…" Mac cut Harriet off before she could say any more.

"Harriet, how far is that from Miami?" Mac had a thought spinning in her head.

"A couple of hours ma'am. Why?" Harriet was curious about what Mac was cooking up.

"Because the investigation we're going on is in Miami. Didn't Bud tell you?" Mac looked surprised up into her friend's eyes.

"No ma'am, no he didn't." Harriet said sternly.

In Harm's office across the bullpen, the two senior officers were sitting behind Harm's desk with a very nervous Bud facing them. "Bud, is there some reason you're nervous about meeting Harriet's parents?" Jim started, his arms crossed across his chest.

"No sir, it's just that I, I mean I'm a little nervous sir, I mean I really love Ensign Sims…Harriet and I know how much her parents mean to her and I just really want them to like me." Bud seemed his usually composed self.

"Take it easy, Bud; it's nothing to be afraid of." Harm said trying to calm his friend.

"No offence, sir, but how would you know?" Bud's nerves had gotten the better of him. "I'm sorry sir, I…" Bud was interrupted.

"Don't be sorry Lieutenant, it was a good question. Commander what exactly makes you an expert on meeting your girlfriend's parents?" Jim looked expectedly into his friend's eyes.

"Well sir, I did date your daughter for a while, I think meeting a Force Recon Marine Colonel is pretty intimidating." Harm tried.

"That doesn't count. A) You and I became friends before you ever went on a date with Gabbs and (b) You were more Gabbs' boy-toy than you ever were her boyfriend." Jim shot back; he knew how his daughter was with her boyfriends. "So I ask you again, Commander what experience do you have dealing with prospective in-laws. And if you're finally ready to be honest with us about Mac, I'll let you count Matt O'Hara."

Harm was taken aback, even after all the surprises Jim had thrown at him since taking the Admiral's chair temporarily, he still never got used to the direct approach. "You're right Colonel; I have no experience with future in-laws."

"Alright Lieutenant, since the Commander is still in denial I'll try and put your mind at ease. Just be yourself, you're an upstanding good man, you're a damn loyal friend and a hell of an attribute to the United States Navy. Harriet's parents will see that in you." Jim tried to reassure the young Lieutenant.

"I don't know sir, I've heard some horror stories about meeting the parents, I just don't want this to be like that." Bud admitted with a deep breath,

"Lieutenant, when I met my ex-wife's parents I was sixteen and doing Marine Corps boot camp against regs and without parental permission. They spoke mostly Spanish and they picked on me because I was white and Protestant while they were Puerto Rican and Catholic. Her brothers picked on me, her mother yelled at me and her father insulted me. I put up with it all, I learned Spanish and converted to Catholicism but that didn't make them like me any more. My wife told me one day that she would love me no matter who I was because even though she loved her parents by birth she chose to love me. I have a feeling that Ensign Sims feels largely the same way about you." The older man smiled as a realization seemed to dawn on Bud's face.

"Thank you sir." Bud smiled from ear to ear and prepared to go talk to Harriet.

"Oh, and Bud?" Jim called from the place he was seated on Harm's desk. Bud turned around to look at his CO. "Knock'em dead. So that when it comes time for me to have this conversation with the Commander about the Major's family, I have some _real_ help." Jim smiled and Bud tossed him a respectful salute before heading off into the bullpen.

"Since when am I dating Mac?" Harm asked from his seated position behind his desk.

"Harm, the two of you met in the White House Rose Garden. Like it or not, you've been dating since the moment you met." Jim tossed his friend a wise smile. "Just get down to Miami and solve this problem. If you have the chance, maybe break Bronco Mendoza's nose." With that, the Marine Colonel got up from his seated position on Harm's desk and walked back to his office.

Harm, Mac, Bud and Harriet had all gone down to Florida, while Jim was stuck in DC, watching the fourth day of hearings that starred Admiral AJ Chegwidden, friend, mentor and father to the JAG crew. Part of his duties had also been to talk down the SECNAV who threatened to jump out of his office window every time that the Admiral got terse with Congress or the CIA called him to say how Harm and Mac were pissing off Mendoza. He decided to put in a personal call to the State Department.

"Madeleine, this is Jim Grant over at JAG." Jim spoke into the phone.

"Ah yes Colonel, you seem to be the cause of a few of Alex Nelson's recent meltdowns. What do I owe you for that?" The Secretary of State joked.

"I could use a favour Madeleine." Jim admitted.

"Let me guess, Bronco Mendoza?" The Secretary's voice sounded almost sarcastic.

"You got it, he's been causing problems for my people, not to mention the President's War on Drugs, you revoke his diplomatic immunity and my people will put him behind bars." Jim sounded firm and steadfast.

"I don't know Jim; this could cause some real problems with Enrique Mendoza." Her tone had switched to one of concern.

"Madeleine, you and I both know that the number of young people and Americans in general dying from drug use is worth putting this spoiled little rich boy behind bars." The lawyer was coming out in him.

"You're right, the President and I were just talking about this. You sure your people can put him behind bars?" The Secretary of State seemed to be supporting the JAG.

"I've got Rabb and MacKenzie down there ready to pull a one-two punch on him right now. All they need is for us to do is revoke his diplomatic immunity."

"You've got it Jim; it'll take a few hours to process the paperwork. I trust that's enough time for you to get on a plane to Miami. If anyone's going to be talking to the press about this one, the President wants it to be you. You and Chegwidden are fast becoming the faces of the Navy and the Marine Corps respectively." The Secretary complimented.

"Thanks Madeleine, you send the notification to Joint Forces Command in Miami Beach and we'll introduce Bronco Mendoza to some good old-fashioned American justice." Jim sounded a little like a cowboy with an itchy trigger finger.

"Remember Colonel, this is Miami, not Tombstone, due process and proper procedures are in place for a reason. That having been said, have fun in the sun, Jim." The Secretary laughed and hung up the phone.

"Tiner, get me on a plane to Miami Beach." Jim said through the intercom as he grabbed what he needed and headed through the office. On his way out, Tiner told him his flight arrangements and Jim ran into Mattoni. "Commander Mattoni, I've got to head down to Miami for a few days, you've got the office until I get back." Jim was fast out of JAG and on his way to Dulles to catch a plane for Miami.

Soon, most of the JAG team was set up at Joint Forces Command in Miami, Mac, Harm and Bud stood over the portraits of several former sailors. "We know, after finding that limpet mine that it's more than likely that Sullivan, Green and Freeman planted one on Mendoza's yacht." Harm started.

"We also know that Mendoza is going to try and get back at whoever blew up his yacht." Mac added. "This means that our senior sailors could be in some trouble." Mac and Harm seemed to concur on that point. A familiar but unexpected voice came through the door at that moment.

"Harm you got a call from a 'Jungle Larry' he said that the old guys who came in for the pencil-fuses last year are at his store and I have confirmation from the Secretary of State herself that Bronco Mendoza's diplomatic immunity has been revoked." Jim walked in waving an official State Department release.

"Well then let's head down to Jungle Larry's!" Harm got out of his chair and was soon hot-footing it out of the room with Mac and Jim on his heels. They got into the Navy issue sedan in the parking lot. Mac and Harm took the front seat with their temporary CO stretching out in the back.

"So where did Lieutenant Roberts go?" Jim stared idly out the window/

"He's in Naples." Mac informed him.

"Ah right, meeting the prospective in-laws." Jim said, a wave of understanding in his voice. "How'd the initial meeting go?"

"Her parents thought I was Bud." Harm chimed in.

"I'm guessing they've never seen a picture of the Lieutenant." Jim laughed under his breath.

"I would say so. Harm, is this the place?" Mac pointed to a rather desolate looking building with lettering that read _Jungle Larry's Army/Navy Surplus_.

"This is it." Harm shut the car off and they all got out to head into the store. The three officers walked in the front door only to have the man who could only be the infamous 'Jungle Larry' point them in the direction of the three elder men. Mac walked up to a rather full shopping cart and picked up some scuba gear.

"Just what were you planning on doing with this, gentlemen?" Mac asked, her eyebrows peaked in curiosity.

"Swimming." One of them shot back.

"You know guys it would be a lot less work to just buy an Old Russian sub." Harm said as he walked up to them. "Come on fellas, let's head out of here." As the officers guided the older men out of the store just as they saw Bronco Mendoza and one of his goons heading toward the building. "On second thought, let's use the back way." Harm turned every one around and they headed for the back door. They barely got into the storage yard behind the surplus store when they were intercepted by Mendoza's goon. The three officers reached for their guns when they heard the drawing back of the hammer of a pistol.

"Don't even think about it." Bronco Mendoza was cocky in his stride as he walked over to the older men. "These punks took something of mine and I'm going to get it back." Mendoza waved his gun in their faces before dragging Artemus Sullivan off at gun point. Harm chased after them but by the time he got to the gate that blocked off the storage area the car with Artemus, Bronco and his goon had pulled away and was out of sight.

"Alright, let's get these guys out of here and try to find someway of getting Art back." Harm ushered every one into the car. "Now guys, Bronco's going to kill Art, we need to know what you guys did so that maybe we can get him back."

"Hey, Art can take care of himself." One of the older gentlemen replied.

"Bronco Mendoza is a very dangerous man and he's going to kill Artemus." Mac protested.

"No he's not, not if he wants to see his money again." Harold Green, the other older gentleman replied.

"Money? How did you end up with some of Bronco Mendoza's money." Harm looked almost stupefied.

"We acquired it during a transaction between narcotics aficionados." Green replied smugly.

"You ripped off a drug deal?" Harm looked at him like he'd done the stupidest thin on the planet. "Where's the money now?"

"It's in a safe spot." Green looked Harm square in the eye.

"We need to get the money, I've got a way to bust Mendoza!" Harm's eyes widened. After stopping by the assisted living facility to retrieve the money Harm hatched his plan. "Alright, this is how I see it. I've gotten in touch with Mendoza. We're going to meet him at the Marina at noon which means that only you two can be recognizable. Mac; you, Jim and I are going to have to blend into the background so that we don't spook them, you two think you can do that?" Harm looked at them and they nodded. "Alright, let's go to work."

Within a few minutes the trap had been set on the docks. Harm looked like he was cleaning a boat, Jim looked like he was fishing off of the end of the dock and neither of them had seen Mac since they split up to get ready. Both Harm and Jim saw Mendoza's boat come into view and they saw Mendoza's goon leap off the boat on to the dock to go get the money from Green and Freeman. That's when Harm's eyes fixed on Mac who came walking across the Marina in a green string bikini. When Harm saw Mac mace Mendoza's goon he sprang into action, rushing across the Marina and jumping into Mendoza's boat. After struggling against Mendoza for a few minutes Harm was standing over the spoiled little rich boy, pinning him against the boat.

"What took you so long?" Artemus Sullivan called from the boat.

"Hey what do you expect, they're only kids." Freeman called back to his friend as the three JAG officers smiled. The Miami police were soon on the scene to take away Mendoza and his associate but not before Harm could shove the State Department notice that revoked his diplomatic immunity in his face. The three officers stood there, next to the older gentlemen who had set all these events in motion.

"I suppose you three think that this makes you heroes?" Sullivan looked at them.

"No, not really." Harm replied. "Just stay out of trouble Mr. Sullivan."

"Commander, do you know what it feels like to be seventy-two?" Sullivan looked Harm in the eye.

"No." Harm laughed.

"Yes you do, because it doesn't feel any different than being eighteen or thirty or fifty. Oh sure, some things aren't as fast as they used to be, but up here in the mind where it counts, you're still that same fresh-faced man you once were." Sullivan tossed him a crooked smile.

"Is this your way of telling me you're not going to stay out of trouble?" Harm questioned.

"Old heroes don't die Commander, they just become the stuff of legends." With that Sullivan, Green and Freeman took their leave of the JAG officers. Harm and Mac were walking alone the road above the Marina when Jim came running up to them.

"I've got to head back to Washington, the SECNAV is throwing a category five fit and me and the Admiral are going to have to talk him off his window ledge again. You two don't have to report back to JAG until 0900 Friday, I suggest you have some fun." With that, Jim flagged down a taxi and made his way toward the airport. Harm hadn't been able to really look at Mac while she was in her bikini, he'd look away or look passed her so he didn't stare.

"Hey Mac, why don't we go take a walk through the Marina, then maybe if you're lucky sweet thing, I'll buy you dinner." Harm smiled as they walked side by side.

"You're on Flyboy." She looked up at him but noticed he wasn't looking back at her. The two of them walked, side by side, down to the Marina and the docks below. They talked lightly about what Bud was likely going through in Naples with a few laughs. Eventually they came to a spot on the docks where there were no boats and Mac took a few steps ahead without Harm by her side.

She looked back and found that his gaze had landed on her, his eyes were intense as they seemed to scan her up and down, looking as if he'd just gained the power to finally see. He saw what it was, the manifestation of everything he'd gone through in the last year and a half of their friendship, he saw his best friend, his co-worker and for the first time he clearly saw someone else. She had gotten to him slowly, she'd made him feel, she'd made him want her. A year ago, the only women he could think of were Annie and Diane, but they had vanished into the recesses of his memory when he looked at her just than.

But what had made him feel this way, all of it, the closeness, the friendship, all of it had been jeopardized by these feelings so many times in the last few months. Baby steps, those were the only words that came to his mind, just baby steps. He knew that she could feel his gaze upon her but she didn't recoil in fact she seemed to be revelling in it. He gathered some resolve and started walking toward her slowly. In one swift motion he dipped down and swept her up in his arms, throwing her into the water unexpectedly.

He jumped in after her so she didn't get angry with him. The two of them moved closer to shore so that they could stand on the bottom with their heads above water. "Harm! That's it flyboy, you're so dead!" She swam up next to him and forced him under water.

After being dunked in his own right Harm surfaced again only to find Mac standing there with a stern look on her face. "Alright, you got me back, now can we do something else other than dunk each other under water?" He asked with a playful lilt in his voice.

"Why don't we talk about the way you were looking at me up on the dock flyboy? If I didn't know better, I'd say you saw something you liked." She meant it as a serious question but it still came out like a tease.

"You know Mac; I've been doing a lot of thinking lately." Harm started.

"Did you hurt yourself?" She laughed and he tried to look hurt before he continued.

"No, I just, I read this really interesting article in a magazine before we left DC and it kind of got me thinking. This article it was on this thing teenagers are doing nowadays, where they…I don't know test the waters on having a relationship with their friends." He stopped here and tried to read her expression, she seemed intrigued. "You know, they're still friends or even best friends, they just do some couple-ish things to see if being a couple would actually work. If it does, than they become a couple, if it doesn't like if it threatens to ruin their friendship than they just go back to being friends." He kind of stammered, stuttered and babbled through the last part.

"Harm, what are you trying to say?" She surveyed him quizzically.

"I don't know, I guess it just got me thinking. We're really good friends, in fact you're my best friend Mac but there are times, like on the dock, when I look at you and I don't just see my best friend, I see this incredibly beautiful woman." Harm looked into Mac's eyes trying to say everything he couldn't put into words.

"I'm not sure if I should accept the compliment or ask what you're trying to get to." Mac couldn't take her eyes off of him, both because it sounded like something really important was on his mind and because the white muscle-shirt he was wearing had gone see-through and clung to him, both thanks to the water. "I'll accept the compliment and ask what exactly you're trying to say." She said with a smile.

"I don't know exactly what it is Mac, but more and more I see that beautiful woman and sometimes it's really hard for me to not…"He stopped for a second, did he really want to say it? Lay it out on the table right here?

"Hard for you not to what, Harm?" Her eyes were pleading with him, if only he would look at them.

"Hard for me to not want more with you. But then I snap myself back to reality and I tell myself how much our friendship means to me and how lost I would be if I ruined that." He sounded defeated and his chin fell to his chest.

"Harm, do you honestly want to try this…this thing that you read in this magazine? Do you really want to trust your life to a sheet of paper with words?" She almost sounded like a prosecutor. He couldn't talk, he merely nodded. "Than let's try, just for a while. I understand though Harm, I understand what it is to look at your best friend and scold yourself because even though he's a cute flyboy, he's your best friend." She smiled at him and that look of defeat left his body completely.

"Do you really want this?" He had to make sure it was real, he couldn't believe this was happening.

"Well that depends, what's entailed in this little 'trial period'?" She looked at him coyly.

"Well we're already beyond it in a lot of ways. I mean the fact that you've spent the better part of the last six weeks sleeping at my apartment bodes well. And we're best friends so that handles a few things. There's just the physical part that we've yet to explore…kind of." The two of them shared a laugh, there minds instantly reviewing all the times in the last months that there cloistered feelings had come out through physical expression.

"Well flyboy, what would this physical exploration entail?" She walked through the water toward him.

"Well for starters I could do this." He dragged his hands over her waist settling them there slowly.

"And I could respond by say, doing this." She gave his six a quick squeeze bringing a smile to both of their faces.

"I suppose but then I would have to say do this." He leaned into her and gently, yet sweetly placed a soft kiss on her lips. His kiss left her stunned but wanting more as he pulled away.

"Flyboy, if this is going to be the result of your thinking, I'm going to make you watch Jeopardy every night." The two of them shared a laugh and climbed out of the water, both pleased with their new understanding, both wondering where it would lead them.


	11. Chains of Command

This week was to be the Admiral's last week working for Nelson on Capitol Hill. There were parts of this job he was really going to miss. He would miss the lobbyists and Senators taking him out to steak dinners to discuss policy. He would miss correcting some young naïve Democrat or some pompous over-zealous Republican. But he missed JAG, at least the people at JAG more.

He missed watching Rabb and MacKenzie dance around each other like pubescent teenagers. He missed the Disney-esque atmosphere that Roberts and Sims brought to the office. He missed having someone like Mac who was consistently on top of every situation. He missed having Rabb do something wild and outrageous only to be proven right. Tiner, there were times on Capitol Hill where he really missed having his competent yeoman around. He was really starting to miss having another old war horse around. On Fridays after every one else at JAG had secured, Jim Grant would come strolling into his office with a bottle of Jameson's Irish Whisky and the two men would drink and talk about the week's events like old friends.

They would talk about baseball, the old days, the days of heroes as the two of them referred to it. They swapped war-stories, they had experienced things they were sure only the other would ever really understand. With the Admiral it was Vietnam, the Mekong Delta more specifically, they were stories no one else really knew, no one else in the office could understand. With Jim it was Somalia, Lebanon and that one winter in Eastern Europe when Parlovsky was hot on his trail. He missed being able to finally talk with someone who, as Jim put it 'could remember all the same Presidents'.

He was happy to be leaving Capitol Hill, happy to be headed back to JAG after Friday, happy that was, until the Tuesday morning issue of the Washington Post crossed his desk at the Pentagon. In his nearly three years as the JAG, sexual harassment cases had always been high-profile and they had been coming fast and furious. When he went before the House Armed Services Committee today he would have to face Hurricane Latham, but not before the current JAG did and that would, at least for the time being, be some consolation. This is one battle that the two old warriors would face together, just on different fronts.

The week since busting Bronco Mendoza had been an interesting one at JAG. Bud had gotten along well at his in-laws place, well relatively well. He'd snuck in a few comments to Harm and Jim about Harriet's mother that were none too flattering. Harriet wasn't happy with how Bud had kept it from her that he was going to be in Florida for the Mendoza investigation and as such she took it out on him in little ways like calling him a 'goof' or saying that she didn't understand him.

By far, the most interesting and easily most comical moments of the week had involved Harm and Mac. On the Friday after Mendoza was by the far the most comical. Mac had beaten Harm into the office and when she saw him walk in the first words out of her mouth were "Morning, Flyboy!"

"Morning, sweet thing." Harm said back, the use of the nickname he'd given Mac had brought the action in the bullpen to a grinding halt. The only person who continued on regularly was Bud who seemed oblivious, having heard Harm call Mac that during most of the Mendoza case. The actions of their co-workers had caused their still-temporary CO to laugh as he tried to drink his coffee.

"Back to work all of you, haven't you people heard of nicknames before!" The gruff Marine voice jarred the office back to reality. If that had been the only incident of the week it would have been forgettable, but it hadn't been. Later there had been the time that Mac was standing at the copy machine and Harm was standing behind her with his arms around her waist, quite absent-mindedly. Then there was the time in the break room when Jim had caught them in the exact same situation except this time with the coffee maker. "And just what is going on in here?" The Colonel said as he raised his empty coffee cup to the counter.

It was amusing to watch the two officers fumble to attention. "Nothing, sir." Mac said trying to repress the mortified look on her face.

"Well let's preventing _nothing_ from happening again shall we? In fact, I want you two to ensure that_ something _is happening by close of business today." The Colonel said with a paternal look on his face.

"Did he just give us permission to…" Harm cut her off.

"Can he even give us permission to?" The two of them looked confused and decided it best not to tempt the Navy gods and just go back to work. Their demeanour had remained the utmost professional for the remainder of the week. It was when the Douglas case came across the interim JAG's desk that it all hit the fan. Harm and Mac were called into the Admiral's office first thing that morning where they saw Jim standing, looking out the window behind the Admiral's desk.

"You two are heading out to the Seahawk, Petty Officer Douglas has filed a sexual harassment complaint against Command Master Chief Sullivan. I believe, that a similar complaint was filed involving the Master Chief last year, the complaint was filed against one Captain Thomas Boone but Master Chief Sullivan was involved, is that right?" The Colonel's gung ho attitude seemed duller right now.

"That's true sir, the Marilyn Isaacs case involved a 'Crossing the Line' ceremony in which the Master Chief was Neptunus Rex." Harm informed the Colonel.

"Crossing the Line huh? Well that's exactly what he's accused of doing this time. If you two can charge him, make it airtight, nail his ass to the wall with a Beretta. The last thing I want is Bobbi Latham or Adele Delong in here on their feminist high horses telling me that I'm another chauvinist male asshole who can't deal with tough women. Because, to be quite honest, Tiner doesn't have enough aspirin in the world for me to deal with those two headaches without letting off a little steam in their direction." Jim set his jaw firm and threw himself down in Chegwidden's chair.

"Aye, aye sir." Harm and Mac came to attention.

"Commander Rabb, your service record states that you served on the Seahawk under Captain Ross as Skipper and Captain, now Admiral, Boone as CAG is that correct?" Jim looked up from the open file on his desk.

"Yes, sir." Harm replied.

"Good, make sure you talk to both of them, they were the senior men on the ship and we all know how fast scuttlebutt travels on a carrier." Jim scanned another piece of paper. "And one final thing. I don't know what's going on between the two of you and other than being very happy for you as a friend, I really don't care, just control your hormones in the office, not that I expect any less of the pair of you."

"Aye, aye sir." The two officers turned on their heels and walked out of their CO's office. The investigation on the Seahawk didn't take long, in fact the case seemed all very straightforward but the oddity came with Captain Ross, there was something beneath the surface there, something Harm hadn't managed to get out of him. As for Tom Boone, the Admiral was somewhere out in the deep blue yonder with the fleet. Harm couldn't get a hold of him and that was another thing that really ate him. He was sure that MCPO Sullivan was guilty but there was just nothing he could find that would solidly affirm that suspicion to six members of a court martial.

When they'd gotten back from the Seahawk it had been as though the clouds were starting to part, it was Tuesday, a good day, a bright sunshine kind of day. That was, until they were summoned to their CO's office. Tiner had told them to go right in - which they did - but they came to a screeching halt when they saw who Jim's company was. "Commander Rabb, Major MacKenzie, I trust you know Dalton Lowne; he's been on the W.H.O's list of highly infectious diseases for the last several years." Jim didn't even seem to look up and acknowledge Lowne's presence.

"Sarah…" Dalton started but he was cut off by the voice of the rather testy Marine Colonel.

"Mister Lowne, I will remind you that this is a place of business. You will address the Major as 'Major', the Lieutenant Commander in a similar fashion and me, well you can just call me 'God'." Jim smiled sarcastically at Dalton before returning to his paperwork.

"Of course." Dalton grimaced, he didn't like being pushed around but there were three Alpha Males in this room and he was going to have to take his place at the bottom of the food chain.

"Mr. Lowne here is going to be representing MCPO Sullivan in his court-martial. It says that every American has the right to a fair and timely hearing, well with Lowne here not being a military lawyer I don't know how fair it will be but I know you two will make this one rather quick and painless. You're at least merciful." Jim said with a look of smug satisfaction. Harm and Mac just stood there and watched him tear into Dalton.

"Colonel are you questioning my legal skills?" Lowne sounded like he'd been hit below the belt.

"Nope, I'm questioning the lack thereof." Jim shot back without even thinking.

"He's got you there, Lowne." Harm sniped.

"Ah yes, the illustrious Lieutenant Commander Harmon Rabb, I had a hell of a time living in your shadow when I was dating the Major." His comment had managed to simultaneously anger Harm and Mac to such an extent as they both wanted to throttle him.

"Dalton, don't turn this into a measuring competition, I'm willing to bet that you won't win." Mac shot back causing both Harm and Jim to repress some serious laughter. Her comment had flustered Dalton enough to make him sit down.

"Nice tactical strike, Marine." Harm whispered to Mac with a sly grin on his face.

"Thanks, Flyboy." Mac whispered back. "Dalton, what exactly are you doing here, I know that a Master Chief doesn't make enough to hire you?"

"I can't tell you who's paying for my services, Major, you know that." Dalton tried desperately to regain the upper hand.

"It's Lane Black." Jim's voice could once again be heard without him lifting his eyes from his paperwork.

"As in the far-right, no-women in combat, chauvinist Lane Black?" Mac asked, the ire in her voice rising to a dangerous level for a Marine.

"The very same, which is why I've given you the express permission to nail Mr. Lowne's case so far into the ground, he'll be the envy of every well-digger in West Virginia." Jim finally looked up from the papers on the Admiral's desk with a tired smile on his face.

"I believe we're done here." Dalton Lowne closed his briefcase and walked out of the office and with a dismissive wave Jim sent Mac and Harm on their way. Mac and Harm followed Dalton to the elevator to get some bartering in on the case.

"Dalton for the sake of professionalism, do you think we could just drop the hostility?" Mac wasn't going to let Dalton Lowne ruin the rather good week she'd been having.

"Fine, friends?" Dalton sounded slightly annoyed as he extended his hand.

"Acquaintances." Mac shot back as Dalton got on the elevator. She and Harm turned back toward the bullpen to work on the case. Since Lowne had left the Admiral's office, Tiner had been scrambling around looking for aspirin for the bellowing Marine Colonel. As Tiner had come out of the break-room, without the aspirin he saw the Admiral walking through the bullpen toward his office and intensified his search. AJ Chegwidden tapped on the door of his old office just for sport.

"Enter!" Jim Grant was rubbing his temples. AJ stepped through the door and smiled, it wasn't just him that this job drove crazy.

"Figured you could use these." The Admiral tossed him the aspirin bottle he had in his coat pocket.

"Thanks." Jim twisted the child-proof cap off the bottle and popped a pill into his mouth.

"I saw the headline this morning. Figured you'd be in the middle of another storm. How many times has the SECNAV called?" The Admiral laughed with some element of concern still evident in his voice.

"This hour? I don't know how you do it; you make this job look so damn easy. Since I started sitting in the chair I've done all I can to keep politics out of this office and maintain some element of my own sanity." Jim grimaced as he leaned back in his chair.

"It's not easy, but hell just think, you deal with Nelson and politicians over the phone, I have to deal with them in person." The two of them shared a laugh. "We were never meant to be desk jockeys."

"No, no we weren't, you should be out commanding a fleet in the Pacific." Jim added and watched his friend smile.

"Yeah and you should be teaching the next generation of Force Recon, or better yet, out in the field where you'd do some good." The Admiral laughed as he pulled over another chair to put his feet up. "We're too old for this, you know?"

"Yeah, I know, but they need us, hell if we left the Navy and the Corps up to the politicians and the champions of political correctness nothing would ever get done right." The two men smiled, somewhat self-deprecatingly.

"I pulled Tom Boone out of the fleet so that Rabb and MacKenzie could interview him. It's amazing what people will do when the DCNO calls. Listen Jim, Tom Boone's old school Navy, just like me and just like you are old school Marine Corps. He's not going to be one of these PC junkies that you can push around, Tom'll push back." AJ sounded paternal.

"Thanks for the warning. You think he'd join us for a drink on Friday afternoon when we normally drink?" Jim perked up; the idea of meeting another like-minded officer was always a plus.

"I wouldn't doubt it. An aviator, a SEAL and a Force Recon Marine. Hell of a trio." The Admiral laughed. "I have to get back to Capitol Hill, I trust Bobbi Latham and Adele Delong are not going to be in the best of spirits when I take my place behind the microphones this afternoon."

"They were screaming at me over the phone before you came in, what does that tell you?" Jim smiled and chuckled under his breath as his friend prepared to head back to work.

"That you should have turned down the volume on your phone. Oh, and Jim before I forget, in a few weeks, I'm having McMurphy's rented out for the night for a little get-together, do you think that you and the Duke Boys could play a new set just for that night? Maybe something more upbeat?" The Admiral smiled hopefully.

"Not a problem AJ, oh and did Tiner tell you? He's our new drummer now." Jim smiled and the Admiral laughed as the two men parted ways.

Mac and Harm's afternoon had been occupied largely by preparing for the court martial of Master Chief Sullivan. They had come up with a sound strategy, it was Harm's firm belief that Captain Ross knew more than he was letting on and it was Mac's firm belief that there were others and that the names Petty Officer Douglas had given them would lead them to the other women.

"You're going to hunt down those leads on the other women, right?" Harm said looking over the transfer orders that Ross had had cut for them to get them off the Seahawk.

"Yep, and you're going to going to prepare your cross-examination of Captain Ross, right?" Mac looked at him maternally.

"Yes Mom, so, is it going to be your place or my place tonight?" Harm dropped the paper and looked at her, it was becoming easier and easier for him to be amazed that he'd gotten her to go along with his crazy plan in Miami.

"Neither, with all the press and Lane Black involved in this we can't show the slightest impropriety or our case will be shot." Mac looked sympathetic. "I could always just call you up and talk dirty to you while you get ready for bed." She had said it so nonchalantly.

"Miss MacKenzie you're trying to seduce me." Harm said with a laugh.

"Is it working?" She asked with a professional tone.

"Maybe." Harm said with a blank look in his eyes and a flippant shoulder shrug.

"Maybe!" She smacked him on the shoulder with a folder.

"Well, if you're going to hit me with a folder then I might have to say no, which be a shame because I'd hate to lie." He tossed her a coy smile and they both finished up what needed to be done for court the next day before securing for the day and heading home. "What're you going to do tonight without your big strong Flyboy?" Harm smiled and she gave him a 'don't-go-there' kind of look.

"Read, what about you?" Mac looked inquisitively up at him as they stood in the elevator next to each other.

"Baby-sit." Was Harm's reply.

"Baby-sit, who could you be baby-sitting?" She looked at him awaiting an answer.

"Our favourite Marine colonel has a date tonight with the Washington correspondent for the BBC." Harm said with a hint of surprise in his voice.

"Jim? Since when did he start dating and why didn't he tell me?" Mac sounded almost offended.

"Actually he didn't even tell me, I had to hear it from his son, that's how I got roped into baby-sitting duty." Harm laughed. "It's also why I was hoping for a little company tonight." He tossed a wink in her direction.

"I think you just wanted to spend the night making out with me, sailor." Mac smiled at him coyly.

"Not a bad idea." Harm laughed as he opened the door to his car. "See you later, sweet thing." The two of them got in their respective cars and drove home. While Harm was trying to wrangle an energetic yet obedient seven year old, Mac was across DC in Georgetown reviewing case files after just having gotten out of the shower. A knock came at her door, she walked over expecting to see her Flyboy standing there with that come-and-get-it grin of his but instead she looked through the peephole to find Dalton Lowne.

"What do you want, Dalton?" Mac said, understandably annoyed as she opened the door in her blue bath robe.

"I wanted the chance to talk you. Listen, I know we're opposing council and I know this is the worst time to do this but I just wanted to say that I'm sorry about the things I said in your office that day and I was hoping we could be friends." He looked at her hopefully.

"Fine, are we through here?" Mac still looked kind of annoyed.

"Actually I was kind of hoping you'd accept an invitation to coffee, as a peace offering or détente or whatever." Dalton was just trying to sound convincing.

"Fine, you've got twenty minutes." Mac stepped aside to let Dalton into her apartment. She went to go change out of her robe and into some clothes for this quick coffee Dalton had planned. While she was changing Dalton had noticed some open files on her desk and quickly wrote down a copy of the pertinent information to his case. When he heard Mac coming, he quickly stuffed the piece of paper back into his jacket. "Let's go."

She and Dalton headed out for a quick coffee wherein he explained all of his actions from that day in her office and made a full apology for each and every one of them. When the twenty minutes was up he graciously walked her back to her apartment and said goodnight.

The next morning, Dalton Lowne had called a press conference to reveal that he had the names of Flag Officers who had been accused of the same offence as Master Chief Sullivan and had not been reprimanded. Back at JAG, Jim Grant was standing in the Admiral's office, his hand open across the his chin and mouth gently stroking the beard that was six days passed a shave.

"Sir, Major MacKenzie is here to see you." Tiner's voice came through the intercom.

"Thank you Tiner, send her in." There was an absent, almost manufactured quality to his voice. Mac gulped and walked in, she had seen Dalton's press conference, and she knew what this meeting was about. She came to attention in front of him. "You want to tell me what happened or you just want me to lay into you because if you don't start explaining Marine, you're going to give me no other choice." She'd known him for a long time, but this was the first time he'd ever sounded disappointed in her.

"No excuse sir. I went out for a quick coffee with Mr. Lowne last night and he must have copied the documents while I was getting ready." This was the first time that there was no friendly fluidity to their conversing.

"I see. Forgive me if I'm wrong, Major, but is there some reason that you didn't feel it necessary to disclose to your boss that you had a date with opposing council while the trial was ongoing?" Jim was trying to hold back his pissed off demeanour.

"Sir, this was no dinner date, it was a twenty minute coffee that wasn't even planned, at least not by me." Mac covered as she persisted with standing ramrod straight.

"It was unethical and unprofessional!" Jim's attitude had gotten the better of him and the last two words had come out in his best DI yell. His anger broke soon after and he looked at her, perplexed and disappointed. "Damnit, Mac, by all means I should have you reprimanded, taken off this case and pulling desk duty for the next three months and to be quite honest the more I tell myself that's what I should do, the more I think that's what I'm going to do." He let out a heavy breath.

She went to talk but he raised a hand to stop her as he sat on the edge of the Admiral's desk. "But I'm not going to do that. Instead, I'm going to believe that this was one very stupid mistake that you will regret and will continue to regret. So here's what I'm going to do. There will be no mention of this on your record, there will be no talking of this in the office, the last thing we need is media scrutiny. However, you will pull Saturday filing duty in this office for the next month."

"Understood, sir." Mac replied.

"Good, now I understand that Mr. Lowne is actually the one at fault here, so if you'll excuse me Major, I'm about to set to work to have his Maryland and Virginia bar memberships revoked for this little incident."

With that, Mac turned and walked out of the office. Over the next two days she worked with added fervour to nail both Dalton and Master Chief Sullivan to the wall. Harm had gotten Captain Ross to admit to the indiscretions that went on under his command and Mac's examination of Admiral Boone on Thursday had sealed the deal. When the members came back with the verdict after closing arguments on Friday, Mac breathed a sigh of relief, thankful to have the event over.

Mac and Harm walked out of the courtroom victorious that Friday afternoon, as close to hand in hand as they could get at work. Dalton chased her out of the courtroom and caught up with her and Harm in the hallway. "Sarah wait!" He called after her. Mac went to turn toward him, she didn't know whether she was going to hit him or just scream at him but she was going to do something. Harm had stopped her though.

"Mac, I'll handle this, you've taken enough grief from him." Harm smiled as he held her back.

"No hitting young man." Mac smiled coyly as the finger she pointed at him flirtatiously ended up on the tip of his nose. Harm walked over to Dalton and put a hand on his shoulder before reaching the other one out and pinching Dalton's cheek.

"You broke her heart, Dalton." Harm gave him a light slap with the hand that was just pinching Dalton's cheek. "You broke her heart." And with a laugh Harm walked back to Mac and the two of them went back up to their offices at JAG ops. It was Friday night, if you were in the JAG office and you were attached to the Duke Boys, you knew that Friday meant music at McMurphy's. Mac kept a pair of blue-jeans and a black shirt in her car just for Friday nights. Harm and the rest of the band had their own civvies along with their instruments in their car, except for Tiner whose drum kit never left the back room at McMurphy's unless it was rehearsal or performance. It was 1700, four hours before the big show, most of the band-mates left either to get some chow before the show or to get the stage set up.

The Admiral loved Friday nights, a quick drink in his office with a friend and then some good music at the bar later. It had been different since he'd been at the Pentagon. This Friday he walked into JAG ops with a forty-seven year old bottle of Jameson's Irish in his hand and Tom Boone striding along next to him. AJ Chegwidden knocked on the door of the office.

"Enter!" Jim Grant's voice was brisk. The Admirals walked in and took their seats on the far side of the desk.

"Jim Grant, this is Tom Boone; Tom, this is Jim." The two men shook hands as AJ made the introductions. "What've we got, Jim?" AJ asked looking at the TV.

"Orioles and Blue-Jays pre-season game in Dunedin." Jim replied. "What've we got in the way of the nectar of the Gods this evening?"

"Jameson's 1951, hell of a year." Tom announced as he kicked his feet up on the Admiral's couch. Admiral Chegwidden poured three glasses of Jameson's and each of the men took their glass and raised it. "What should we drink to?" Tom Boone asked with a smug look on his face.

"How about individual toasts?" Jim suggested, an apparent wise smile on his face.

"Alright, you go first, Colonel, you're the youngest." Admiral Chegwidden's gruffness seemed to disappear.

"To a service we love." Jim raised his glass.

"To old heroes and the legends we'll leave behind." AJ raised his glass.

"To the ghosts of the past, may they help us teach the future." Tom Boone raised his glass and with a loud clink the three men smiled and downed their drinks. "So this is how JAG's senior officers spend Friday night. I should've become a lawyer."

"No, there's too much thrill in being in the air for you flyers. We couldn't keep Rabb here if he was still able to fly. JAG's just a good place for them to stick tired old Special Ops guys so we don't get into trouble in the modern, politically correct world." The Admiral laughed as he tuned himself into the game.

"You two have caused nothing but trouble in the last month from what I've heard. AJ you almost came to blows with two congressmen and a senator and Jim successfully pissed off a foreign country, an important South American diplomat and a right wing think-tank lobbyist. You two are bound to cause trouble no matter where they stick you." Tom's comment created laughter from everyone in the room.

"Yeah but it's tougher to shoot people in Washington." Jim retorted.

"Tell that to William McKinley." Tom Boone fired back.

"I told you this once, we're getting too old for this." AJ looked at Jim and the two friends exchanged laughs. "What are we going to do? I have to take control of this chicken coup again in a few days, you've got to go back to the fleet and you've got to go back to being Chief of Staff."

"Well we could always go down to McMurphy's and hear some damn good music and revel in one of our last nights where we've got more authority and Tom's got no responsibilities." Jim offered.

"Sounds like a plan." Tom got up off AJ's couch.

"Sure does." AJ got out of the chair.

"Well how about this; the DCNO, the JAG and a fleet commander all heading out to a bar, we'd do Nimitz proud." Tom said as they walked through the JAG bullpen.

"Yeah, or we drink him under the table." With that, Jim turned the lights off in the bullpen, effectively ending another week at JAG.


	12. The Stalker

A/N: Okay, I've been hitting you guys with a lot of new chapters recently and I think I maybe asking too much of you to read a new one everyday so I'll try to space it out (tell me in a review if this is a needless worry and maybe I'll keep going at my pace). Love the reviews! Big thanks to my beta!

It was another Tuesday, night-time this time around. Someone had rented out McMurphy's for Friday night, so the owner of McMurphy's had the guys playing on Tuesday to make it up to their patrons. Mac and Harriet hadn't missed one of the guys' performances and there were people who were starting to come to the bar just to hear the band, their friends had become local rock stars.

The guys were in between sets, setting up the instruments that they'd need for the more intimate, acoustic portion of the evening. As Mac sat at the bar an unwelcome face made his way over to the stool next to her. "Is this seat taken?" The man asked timidly.

"What do you want, Dalton!" Mac was sick of him, it largely stemmed from the fact that she'd had a rather unpleasant encounter with him in the parking garage of the mall a little while back.

"All I want is the chance to talk to you." Dalton took a seat on the barstool next to Mac.

"To tell me what, Dalton? That you're sorry? That it was your job? What are you going to lie about next Dalton tell me, I could use a good laugh." She shot at him snidely.

"I deserve that…"Dalton started before Mac cut him off.

"No, Dalton, you deserve a lot more than that. Now I suggest you leave before my resolve wears and I throw you out." Mac's annoyance was growing and in fact the little scene had called the attention of her friends who all walked over and stood behind her. Dalton casually got up from the stool and stalked out of the bar. Harm stayed with Mac while his band-mates went back up to the stage to get ready for the second set.

"Are you okay, Mac?" He was evidently concerned; he knew how much of a problem Dalton Lowne had become. "I mean, if there's anything I can do just tell me, you know I'll do it." He was rambling, trying to help her.

"Harm, it's okay, Dalton acting like a jerk isn't your fault. Now go back up on stage so that I can have another really hot dream about my favourite Navy pilot turned lawyer/rock star." She smiled coyly and just before he turned to head back up to the stage a loud bang came from out in the alley. "What was that?"

"Probably just a car backfiring." The bartender replied as he cleaned a glass.

"That was no backfire." Mac said frantically as she sprang up from the bar, Harm following her closely. The door to the bar opened and the two JAG officers sprang through it and the gathered crowd of people outside. Mac saw Dalton Lowne, lying on the ground in a pool of his own blood, slowly but surely passing out of this life. Mac rushed over to him and put pressure on the wounds to try and slow the bleeding.

"Someone call 9-1-1." Harm called as he kneeled down next to Mac. Dalton's breathing was becoming more laboured, he didn't really stand a chance, but they had to try.

"Sarah?" Dalton's voice came soft and faint. Mac nodded and leaned into hear what he had to say. She nodded solemnly after letting him say his piece and slowly she watched as Dalton Lowne closed his eyes for the last time. In that instant Mac stood up and threw herself into the waiting arms of her favourite Navy Commander. The tears came, slowly and unnoticed as only one or two escaped her eyes.

Within minutes, the DC police were on the scene, with familiar and unpleasant face leading the investigation. "Commander Rabb, Major MacKenzie." Coster said without any emotion at all.

"What do you want, Coster?" Harm's eyes were on fire, his urge to protect Mac after what had just happened had increased tenfold as he held her to his chest.

"Major, did the deceased say anything to you before he died?" Coster's tone was cold, unsympathetic, and almost robotic.

"No." Mac's reply was short and simple.

"Major, witnesses say the deceased said something to you before he died." Coster pressed his question.

"If you knew the answer Coster why did you ask the question?" Harm fired back, he'd had enough of the detective's attitude.

"Major, what was your relationship to the deceased?" Coster's question hit Harm harder than it did Mac, the thought of Mac and Lowne in a relationship was painful, to the point where it tore at him.

"One way; lately he's called my apartment and shown up in a parking garage near my car when I was shopping." Mac's admission had given Harm a look of surprise and hurt. If this was happening, why hadn't she come to him, after what happened in Miami, what had been happening between them recently than wasn't this the kind of thing they were supposed to share.

"Sounds like whoever killed him might've done Mac a favour." Coster replied, it was a cold, unfeeling sentiment; much like everything else that had come out of Coster's mouth in the last five minutes. "I'm going to have to take her down to the station for some questions." Coster said as he looked up from the ground.

"I'm going with her." Harm blurted out.

"I'm sorry, Commander; I only need to talk with the Major." Coster explained with a self satisfied smile.

"I'm her lawyer." Harm fired back.

"She's not under arrest." Coster was getting confrontational.

"I don't care." Harm stood toe to toe with Coster, his imposing figure eventually causing the DC detective to back off. The ride to the station was painstakingly silent. Harm's breathing was heavy and his mind was rambling. He put his arm around her shoulders to comfort her, to let her know that he was there but he tried not to get to close. She didn't want him there or she would've let him in.

"Harm, say something." She looked concernedly at his face as he never took his eyes off the road.

"No." His reply betrayed more emotion than he's intended.

"Why?" She felt on the verge of tears.

"Because it will come out wrong." He let out a heavy sigh and turned the corner toward the station. He composed himself and tried to manifest a statement that wouldn't come out offensive or aggressive. "Why?"

"Why what?" She was happy that she'd gotten him to talk but frustrated that he'd gone right into lawyer mode.

"Why didn't you tell me that Dalton was calling? That he had followed you to the mall that night? Damnit, Mac, I'm supposed to be your…"She'd figured it better to cut him off before he got on his high horse.

"My what? You know what you feel like sometimes Harm? Like a ghost, you're there but you're not when it comes to this thing. We treat each other like toys; we take each other out of the toy chest and have our fun than put one another back." Her honesty was brutal and it dealt that one blow he didn't need to take. He fell silent, his attention turned to the road again. What could he say, he couldn't refute her, she was, for the most part at least, right. "Don't you have anything to say? Or does whatever there might be between us mean so little to you that you won't fight for it?"

That was the final straw; she had all but called him a coward. She wasn't so wrong, what the hell was he thinking with this? Their friendship was much as it had been before Miami except with an awkward peck on the lips here or a well-placed hand at an appropriate time. He knew what he wanted, he wanted her, this little whatever it was, was supposed to be for her.

He was sick of it, sick of sitting back, sick of questioning what it was. But words weren't enough for him. He pulled the car over and turned it off. She looked at him; she didn't understand what he was doing. When he turned toward her she could see a look of determination flare up in his eyes. He leaned in and kissed her, fully, slowly and almost torturously. She took him in, every moment, every sense, like she was getting lost in him, drowning in him and not caring. This was no ordinary peck like the others that they had shared; this kiss was more, much more. This kiss was his way of screaming 'this is what I want to be to you and if I wasn't using all my resolve, I'd take you right here in this car'.

He pulled away leaving her stunned, he looked her right in the eyes and using all of his composure not to smile he let out a heavy breath. "Your move." With that he sat stock still in the driver seat, turned the key in the ignition and drove the rest of the way to the police station.

Mac's interview was relatively quick and painless with Harm having to confront Coster on only a few points. Eventually, the interview was over and Harm took Mac back to her apartment. There had been few words exchanged since the kiss in the car. She opened the door to her apartment. "Your clothes are still soaked with blood Mac, why don't you go change, I'll make some tea."

She couldn't believe what he'd done in the car, part of her told her to expect something, she had called him on it and he had responded with all he'd had. Any expectations she'd had of what he was going to do, any doubts she had about what he felt melted in that instant. But he'd done it, he'd put the ball in her court, she had to respond. She wanted him, badly, in ways she'd wanted no other man. She had to respond to him or she'd lose him, at least that was her worry.

The second she entered her bedroom it was no longer her biggest worry. She found the room in shambles and the words 'EVEN GOD FORGIVES' scrolled across the wall above her bed. "Harm!" She called from her bedroom. He could sense the urgency in her voice and came running to her side. When he saw the state of her bedroom and the words above her bed, he instinctively wrapped a protective arm around her. "The words, Dalton left a message on my machine with those words." She sniffled into his jacket.

Harm called the DC police who arrived on the scene, Coster once again leading the charge. "Looks like whoever's stalking you is targeting men you're close to, who have a romantic interest in you." Coster started and Harm gulped. "Have you been dating anyone?" Coster's question cut right to the quick.

"No." Mac shook her head, she wasn't lying, she and Harm weren't dating - at least not officially.

"Even men you only fantasize about?" Her mind turned to Harm again and she hoped that whoever had ransacked her apartment hadn't found her journal under her mattress. Mac shook her head in the negative. "Well, my men are sweeping the place. Is there any place you can stay for the night?"

"No, I'm not letting this guy push me out of my home." Mac shot back getting defensive. Harm walked over to try and comfort her but she pushed him away. After a few more minutes of intense police scrutiny in her apartment, the police filed out and Mac was left sitting on her couch facing Harm. "I don't understand it Harm, it's like one moment, Dalton leaves that message on my machine and then the next those words show up on my wall it's just…" Harm put his hand over her mouth and motioned for her to be quiet, mouthing only one word 'bug'.

Harm grabbed the phone and slid the back off the reveal an audio surveillance device. Harm dropped it on the floor and Mac crushed it with her heel. "Do you think it could be that Chief Petty Officer we're defending?" Mac looked into his eyes; it was times like this that she hoped that he'd have all the answers.

"I don't know, Mac, I suppose it's possible. You certainly seemed to clash with him today. I wouldn't put it passed him. You know, Mac; you could always stay at my apartment tonight." Harm wanted her to feel safe most of all; he knew that he wouldn't get any sleep if he wasn't sure that she was safe.

"Harm, I'm a Marine, I can't let someone force me out of my home. And I know what you're thinking and no you can't stay here. You heard what Coster said, this psycho could go after anyone he considers a potential rival. You mean way too much to me for me to put you in any danger. What I said in the car, it was stupid and it was wrong but that kiss…oh God Harm, I'd say all those stupid, childish things again just for that kiss." She smiled at him and his spirit warmed up as he looked in her eyes.

"You know you're making it incredibly difficult for me to get out of this chair and head home right now but you're right, for both our sakes it's better if we keep our distance for the next couple of days." Harm stood up and moved over toward the door.

"Goodnight, my flyboy." She said with a sweet, regretful tone.

"Goodnight, sweet Sarah." Harm placed a loving kiss on her forehead as he stepped out into the hallway and she reluctantly closed the door behind him. The next day at JAG didn't get off to the best start. The interview with Chief Petty Officer Sevalas had been confrontational, Mac thought he was a chauvinistic, egotistical caveman and Sevalas saw the chip on Mac's shoulder coming a mile away. After about ten minutes, Harm decided he'd had enough; he dismissed Chief Sevalas and decided to talk to Mac.

"Mac, what are you doing here today, a man died in your arms last night and someone broke into your apartment and could very well be stalking you." He sounded concerned but Mac did hear the concern, she heard sanctimony.

"Harm, you've got to trust me, I'm fine, I can deal with situations. I'm a Marine…" She was cut off by one very fed up Naval officer.

"You're human Mac, just like the rest of us, no matter how much you tell yourself that you're not." Harm shot back, it bugged him, how he seemed to take this more seriously than she did. She couldn't believe him, dictating to the world from his moral pulpit, he was such an arrogant ass sometimes. Just as she was about raise the bar of the argument a little more they were interrupted.

"Mac! What the hell are you doing here?" The voice was, at least in Mac's eyes, the only man that could match Harm moral pulpit, for moral pulpit; Jim Grant.

"Not now, Jim." Mac shot in an aside.

"Not now my ass, Major, I heard what happened last night, get home, you're dismissed." That was the benefit of having Eagles on your shoulder; you didn't have to put up with excuses from anyone but flag officers. Mac made an angry exit from Harm's office, quickly gathered her stuff and headed off for the day.

"What took you so long?" Harm looked at his friend; the two of them knew the day was going to play out like this.

"I had a client meeting, remember, we are all lawyers first not crisis counsellors. I don't like sending her home like that, without one of us." Jim looked forebodingly up at his friend.

"How bad do you think this could get?" Harm responded.

"This could be pretty bad before it gets better. I think Mac's got some handle on it; I only hope I'm right." Jim let out a heavy breath. The two men broke up their little meeting to get back to work. The air at JAG was tense; the atmosphere was congested, like in those few milliseconds before a car crash when time slows down. It was that way well through lunch, which was uncharacteristically eaten in Admiral Chegwidden's office.

For their respective sakes Harm and Jim walked around like the incident with Mac that morning hadn't happened. For Harm it meant that the steps of the night before, would - like tracks in the Arizona desert - be covered over by the sands of time. For Jim it meant a much more immediate threat, an ever present, clairvoyant bottle of vodka that's cry intensified when life got tough. He couldn't very well leave work and head down to McMurphy's, his schedule was full. He picked up the phone and dialled the familiar number.

"Eamon, it's Jim. Major MacKenzie there?" The voice was unusually drained and gruff. "She just left? Can you tell me what she had?" His voice, his very breath, were hinging on the next response. "I figured that was the case, how long ago did she leave? Twenty minutes? Thanks Eamon, I'll see you on Friday." The receiver clicked and he threw his garrison cap across the room in anger. He ran his fingers through his hair in contemplation. "Lieutenant Roberts!"

Bud, half-afraid thanks to his senior officer's tone, walked over to the office. "Yes sir."

"Bud, what courtroom is Harm using to prepare Chief Sevalas?" There was a wisdom attached to the seeming ambiguity of this question.

"Courtroom 3 sir." Bud replied, his creased with a frown and several ready questions.

"Make sure that no one, not even Admiral Morris goes near that courtroom until I tell you otherwise, do you understand Lieutenant?" There was a cold rhythm to the question.

"Yes, sir." Bud nodded his head to match the seeming solemnity that the words had added to the uncomfortable atmosphere at JAG.

"And Bud, ignore everything you hear coming through the doors of that courtroom. This conversation never happened, if you can, imagine that this day up until I relieve you of your post at that door, never happened. I know this isn't how you imagined your first day as a JAGman investigator, but this is really important Bud." The Colonel's jaw was set firm as his eyes betrayed the importance without him actually needing to say the words.

"Yes, sir." Bud went to leave the office.

"Bud, you're a good man, never forget that." The two men nodded in understanding before Bud retreated to courtroom three to do the task assigned to him. When Bud walked up to courtroom three he couldn't hear the voices inside which made him all the more grateful. There was something going on in that courtroom that the Colonel obviously didn't want him to be witness to, something he was glad the Colonel had ensured he wouldn't lay witness to.

Inside Courtroom three, Mac had barged in on Harm's preparation of Chief Sevalas. Harm's moment of realization came that instant, when Mac came barging into the courtroom, she wasn't Mac. She wasn't passionate and composed, she wasn't tough and simultaneously vulnerable; she wasn't the woman that did things to his soul with one glance.

She was sloppy, miserable really. She tried to be composed but the only logical thing he could think to do was refer to her as 'Major' and hope she squared up. But she took the lead, always the Marine, even when she was drinking. "So Chief, how are you?" Her voice was playful, it didn't have the composure and fortitude Mac normally presented in the courtroom.

"Fine Major, and how are you?" Chief Sevalas seemed, for all his plethora of shortcomings, able to overcome the altercation of that morning.

"Oh I'm great Chief, so Chief what were you doing with the victim on the night in question?" Mac's voice had no force, it was almost ditzy.

"She was a hooker ma'am I was using her services." The Chief's reply came out like a sentence he used often.

"So you were having sex with her?" Mac pointed at him as she walked slowly toward the witness stand.

"Yes, ma'am."

"According to her you were unable to finish, is that true Chief?" Mac's tone was fast turning accusatory.

"No ma'am, I got my money's worth." The Chief had just pulled the lid off Pandora's box.

"Did she, Chief? She claims you couldn't give her what she wanted."

"Objection." Harm had enough, Mac didn't deserve this, she didn't deserve to embarrass herself in front of a man she considered scum.

"Overruled." Mac shouted back at him.

"Major, you're drunk." The Chief spat back at her.

"You're evading the question. I guess that means she was right in her assessment. That's why you hit her, isn't it, Chief? Because you couldn't be the man that say, Commander Rabb here, is?" Mac gave Harm an unceremonious pat to the upper inner thigh and ended up, diplomatically put, feeling more than leg.

"I respect women, Major, I know you don't believe that but it's the truth." Sevalas stood his ground even though she'd really hit him below the belt.

"Chief, you're dismissed get out." Harm stated bluntly as Sevalas frantically left the courtroom. Harm tossed her a disappointed look, and slowly walked toward her.

"Ma-ac." He laboured as his movement slowed.

"So I had a drink, it's not the end of the world." Mac refuted as she moved toward him.

"Mac, you need to get home, I'm calling you a cab." Harm picked up his cell phone.

"Oh yes, Harmon Rabb Junior, so righteous, so pure. Never had a weak moment in your life, have you?" She was pressed right up against him, if she wasn't drunk, it would've been incredibly tempting. She locked her fingers behind his neck and looked intently into his eyes.

"I'm going to wait outside." He tried to get loose of her by manoeuvring.

"Oh I forgot, you do have weak moments. In fact there have been a few of them this year. That morning in my apartment, that night on the Roosevelt, am I a weak spot for you Harm? And we can't forget about daddy dearest." Mac practically spat at him. Before Harm could say anything the doors to the courtroom flung open to reveal one very angry Marine.

"Major, Commander, sit, NOW!" He commanded the room as he strode down the middle aisle. Harm and Mac obediently took their seats in the gallery on either side of the aisle. "There is one thing I will not tolerate, it's insubordination and drunkenness, Major! When I ordered you to go home, how is it you managed to misconstrue my order so badly as to assume I meant 'go out, get plastered and come back into work'?" Mac went to open her mouth but Jim merely pinched the bridge of his nose, squinted his eyes and raised his hand to stop her.

"Mac, don't, this is going to be tough. First of all, I want you both to know that I called Matt O'Hara, to figure out how to deal with his situation and once I managed to talk him out of his plan to come here and rip you a new one, he told me, so here's what's going to happen." At the mention of her uncle's name Mac sat arrow straight in her seat and looked terrified. "Commander, you're going to take the Major to her apartment and you're going to sober her up. I don't care what you have to do, do it! Major, if you talk at all and the first words out of your mouth aren't 'I'm sorry', you will have to face the Admiral tomorrow and I can promise that will be an unpleasant experience. Do the two of you understand!"

"Yes, sir." Harm answered for both of them.

"Good, now get out of my sight." Harm and Mac retreated through the courtroom doors to the outside hallway. Harm piled her and everything from work into his car and got them to Georgetown without incident. She leaned on him as they made their way up to her apartment and eventually through her front door. He gently brought her to rest on her couch as he went into her kitchen to make the strongest coffee he could think of. She was sprawled out on the couch, slowly her senses were coming back, she'd have to sleep it off, she'd have to dry out and get back on the wagon, thank God he was there to help her.

He came out to the living room with the coffee and sat down on the couch next to her. "Okay Marine, open the hatch." He said as he handed her the coffee cup,

"How about some non-Navy terms, sailor." Mac shot back as she tried to resolve herself.

"Don't know any Marine terms, sorry." He tossed her a trademark smile as she raised the coffee mug to her lips.

"Don't smile, please." Mac said calmly, sending waves of shock through him.

"Why not?" He almost looked hurt.

"Because for two years, every time I've seen that smile, I've wanted to tear your clothes apart at the seams and make you forget other women existed. And I can't want to do that now, not in the state I'm in." She looked up at him as the gravity of what she'd done earlier in the day brought her back to earth.

"Okay Marine, you just lay down and try and sleep it off okay?" She gently turned over to lay on her stomach as he took the coffee mug from her. She laid on the couch and he gently snaked his hand up the back of her shirt and proceeded to gently draw lazy patterns on her back to lull her to sleep. Slowly the words and notes of _Unchained Melody_ escaped his lips as Mac's eyes closed and she was at peace for the first time in the last twenty-four hours.

She looked so peaceful when she slept, all the troubles of the world, all the pains of her world before the Marines seemed to leave her and she was as an angel given to him by God. God, she was beautiful when she was awake, when she was passionate, when she pouted, when she was stubborn but when she slept that element of peace made her immaculate in his eyes.

He laid out on the floor at the foot of the couch and caught a nap of his own. When they slept, the world seemed to disappear. Freud said that every dream is a wish and they wished only for each other, sure they were working for it in real life but in their dreams, in their dreams they had already achieved it. Happiness, an illusion or an evasion was something that existed only while they slept.

When Mac awoke two hours fifty-three minutes and twenty seven seconds later reality hit her like a ton of bricks. She nudged Harm whom she noticed was sleeping on the floor at her feet. He stirred awake slowly looking up at Mac who had curled up into the foetal position on her couch. "I said some awful things to you."

"Yeah, but that wasn't you. You were right about one thing Sarah, you are one of my weak spots." He took her hand in his and placed it on his chest. She could feel his heartbeat underneath her fingertips. "Right here, that's where you're my weak spot, Sarah."

"No, you can't keep doing this. You said it was my move that night in the car and you're right, it is. You remember last night, when Coster asked if there were men I only fantasized about?" She walked into her room and pulled out a red notebook from under her mattress. She flipped through the ledger quickly, doggy-earing a few of the important pages. "You want a move? Read this, the pages with the turned corners are the ones that'll tell you what I feel."

He opened the book to the first 'important' page and began to read what Mac had wrote.

_I met my new partner today. An arrogant, loyal and decent man. Of course it doesn't hurt that he has the body of Adonis and a smile that threatens to melt me every time I get close to him. Needless to say that as long as we're working together it won't be movie-stars ravishing me in my fantasies._

Harm smiled as he thought of the first day that the two of them had met. He thought of how useful this journal would've been last year or even earlier this year. She curled up next to him as he flipped to the next 'important page'.

_I made up with Harm today. We both acted childish on this case and we almost let it jeopardize the friendship we're building. I still can't believe he fired off a gun in court. We sat on his bed eating the meals I'd brought over. I kept scolding myself the entire time because I just wanted him to push the meals off the bed and take me, kind of like he'd done in my dream the night before._

Harm smiled and gently brought his hand down to run his fingers through her hair as she brought her head to rest on his chest. This journal of hers was getting interesting, he flipped to the next page.

_That man does the most bull-headed things I've ever seen. He practically told off Congresswoman Delong. God, does he know how hot he is when he's passionate? Why am I ranting like a schoolgirl? Well that answer's at least simple, I wanted to throw my smart, funny and gorgeous partner up against a bulkhead on a carrier and have my way with him. A girl can dream right?_

The two of them shared a laugh over the last entry and he lightly kissed the top of her head and she let out a little sigh. Now she was starting to narrate the pages as he turned them. It didn't matter to him, it was her voice that was narrating them in his head anyway.

_Okay, I've given up fighting. This is treason for a Marine to say but I've fallen head over heels for a Navy man. Damn! I can't believe all the sweet, if slightly morbid things he did for me while we were running through the Appalachians. Like asking my permission before pouring the bourbon on my wound. Or that speech he gave me so that I would get up and keep going after I'd all but given up. But my favourite was snuggling together at night for body heat. I fit into his arms perfectly, I wish I didn't think of my best friend this way, it could make things difficult………_

The two of them shared soft knowing looks at the last sentiment before continuing on to the next page.

_I might be making progress. He doesn't think of me as his sister and he seemed to give me a good looking over when he saw me in my dress. Hopefully, I'm not imagining things._

They read the next page together, the incident still playing fresh in both their memories.

_That's it! I've got to have him. I saw that man in dress whites and the sight alone nearly caused me to kiss him. If I ever see him with his shirt off I don't think I'll be able to fight that impulse. God, why is this situation so difficult!_

"You mean to tell me we could've done all this a year ago?" Harm looked into her eyes and gave her a smile. He flipped to the next entry that she wanted him to read.

_Four words: Harm in Marine Uniform. I'll have good dreams tonight._

Another laugh passed between them and yet another page was turned.

_That sweet man! He got himself hit by a car to protect me from getting hit by it. Of course it didn't hurt that when we got to the hospital I had to pose as his girlfriend in order to get any information on where he was. It does kind of spoil the fun that I never got to see him stand up in that cute hospital robe._

"So that's why the doctor thought you were my girlfriend?" Harm looked at her with a mock inquisitiveness as he lightly stroked her hair.

"Here, now flip to the last marked page." Mac was sitting in Harm's lap. He had his head on her shoulder so he could read the notebook, he had one hand holding the book up and the other arm wrapped around Mac's waist, holding her to him.

_Just got back from Miami. I love that city! I actually found out that Harm read that "Friends with benefits" article I left in his apartment last week. It gets better; he actually thought it would be a good idea for us. Okay, now before I start sounding all giddy, I have to remember I'm a Marine, this is no big deal. I'm just practically dating my best friend who calls me 'Sweet Thing' and kissed me four times before we ever left Miami. Get a grip MacKenzie, just because you've been trying to date this man for a year doesn't mean you should get overexcited about baby steps._

"So you left that magazine at my apartment? I wondered why the magazine was left open to that article." He smiled at her as he gave her a light kiss on the cheek.

"Well you'd kissed me three times this year before we even went to Miami. I kind of figured I might throw something out there." She smiled at him slyly before giving him a quick kiss on the lips.

"I think it's a good thing I didn't write down some of the dreams I had about you." Harm smiled as Mac turned around and straddled his lap.

"And why's that?" She braced herself against his chest, he face mere centimetres away from his.

"Well let's just say that they were…NC-17" He laughed as she tossed him her own little look of surprised intrigue. "I think we should go back to my place before we carry this little display any further."

"Why should we go back to your place?" It's not that Mac objected to the idea she just wasn't sure she could make to his place without kissing him senseless.

"Let's see, half of your clothes are there, it's probably safer since this place was recently broken into and my bed is bigger." Harm smiled coyly as she considered his argument.

"Nice argument counsellor, although I think you might be getting ahead of yourself with that bed thing." She got up off of him so that they could get what the needed to head over to his apartment.

"We'll see, come on sweet thing." The two of them slipped their shoes on and made their way down to Harm's car before heading to his apartment, north of union station. The drive to Harm's was an interesting one. Every time they stopped at a red light, Mac's hand would slowly creep up Harm's leg, this of course caused him to drive with a greater want of getting back to his apartment "Sarah, if you don't stop that, I'm going to tear your clothes off when we get to my place."

"That a promise, flyboy?" She looked at him maniacally as she mercilessly teased his libido. Harm broke every speed limit on the way back to his apartment. When Harm parked his car outside his building, the tension had reached its zenith. The ride up to the apartment in the elevator was one elongated make out session. Their lips never parted as Harm scrambled for his keys and eventually managed to unlock the door to his apartment. Gasping for air the two of them separated only momentarily so that Harm could lock the door to the apartment. When he turned around to face Mac she pounced on him, tearing his shirt open, sending buttons flying in all directions.

"I always tear the wrapping paper off my presents." Mac panted as she ran her hands up his chest eventually coiling them around his neck and nuzzling it with her lips. Harm worked his hands down her back to her six and he proceeded to hoist her into the air. She locked her feet behind his back and he wrapped one arm around her back as the other hand unbuttoned her uniform. Both of their jackets and shirts fell into a heap on the floor. Their lips locked in a passionate quarrel as he walked them up to the bedroom.

He tossed her on to the bed and she landed on her six. She propped herself up on her elbows as he undid the button and fly on his uniform trousers. "Isn't this supposed to be the part where you tell me to 'take you to bed or lose you forever'?" He smiled at her as she let out a small laugh.

"I thought I implied that in the car." Mac tossed back playfully as she undid her uniform skirt. Harm hurled himself down on to the bed, bracing his arms on either side of her he looked down into her eyes. Leaning on one arm Harm raised his hand gently ran it over Mac's cheek eliciting a sharp intake of breath from her.

"I'm amazed at how beautiful you are Sarah." He said in a voice just above a whisper.

"Harm, if we do this, I can't go back to just being 'Mac' in the morning." Her doubts were starting to creep to the surface.

"I have news for you, sweet thing; you haven't been just 'Mac' for a long time." He placed a hand behind her head where it met her neck and brought her lips up to meet his. Her nails raked down his back as his lips began to work their way down her neck to her collarbone. Then for the next two hours they enjoyed each other, nothing Mac had wrote in her journal could compare to what she'd experienced that night. For Harm's part, he knew he'd never be the same.

Eventually they were lying next to one another, panting, trying to fill their lungs with air. "I never would've figured you for a cowgirl type." Harm gasped out as he turned his head to look over at her.

"Oh I'm full of surprises." She smiled as she rolled into his outstretched right arm. "But apparently so are you, Mister twice in two hours." She kissed his cheek.

"Maybe I just couldn't get enough of you Sarah." He turned toward her and snuggled her against him.

"Okay, who are you and what have you done with my cocky, brash and arrogant flyboy of a partner?"

"You did one hell of a job of taming him. I don't think I'll ever be the same after that."

"Too many Gs for you flyboy?"

"Best natural high ever!" He said emphatically as he brought her in for a kiss. Just then he heard the sound of a bell coming from the kitchen and he and Mac both wrapped themselves in sheets as they walked out to the kitchen. Harm opened a door in the wall to reveal a note and a bell in the little opening.

"Since when do you have a dumb-waiter?" Mac asked with some protestation in her voice.

"Since you went out of town last weekend, Jim and I got plastered and decided it would be easier than using the phone. So we put one in." Harm smiled as he pulled out the piece of paper and read it to her. _"I'm very happy that the two of you were able to work things out. Please remember in the future that I have a seven year-old son whom I have no intention of explaining the birds and bees to at this juncture. So please keep the volume down in the future. And Harm, judging by what I heard through the ceiling, you should be very proud of yourself. –Jim" _

"He has an uncanny knack for ruining the fun of the situation." Mac laughed as she headed back to the bedroom.

"Did I tire you out, Marine?" Harm asked as he headed for the bed himself. The two of them spent the night, wrapped in each other's arms, gently allowing sleep to overcome them.

The next day at JAG progressed normally. The Admiral informed everyone that he was hosting a party at McMurphy's the next day and that the senior staff was invited to attend. Harm launched his plan to find Mac's stalker that morning by planting the tracking device on her car. He'd brought the Admiral up to speed on the plan in case he needed to duck out during the day and he'd brought Jim up to speed in case he needed back-up. There were after all, some benefits to having a Recon Marine as a friend.

When Mac got the call from Coster, the plan sprang into action. She was the first out of the building with Harm taking only a few minutes delay before following her. Jim had his cell phone on, ready for the call in case Harm thought he needed help. The tracking device worked slowly eventually narrowing down exactly where Mac was. This plan was admittedly not a favourite of his, but it was the only way for them to get their lives back to normal without having to look over their shoulders.

Harm saw Mac's car as he pulled up to the building and found his way inside. He walked through the place silently; his time in the jungle with Stryker had given him the experience needed to conduct this kind of rescue properly. As he moved through the building he began to hear a voice, a familiar voice. He popped his cell-phone open and hit the 'call' button but didn't talk. On the other end of the line Jim Grant picked up and not hearing a voice he knew that he'd gotten his signal.

Harm, knowing his back-up was on the way, forced his way through the door that he heard the voices through. "I know you're here, Coster." Harm said with some annoyance as he walked down the steps of the room, his gun at the ready. Harm felt an electric pulse at his heel and he went flying down the stairs, knocking his gun from his grasp. As Harm went to reach for the gun he could hear the hammer on Coster's gun get drawn back. Harm got to his feet with his hands in the air. Just when it looked like Harm's plan was about to fall into ruin, Mac screamed through the duck tape over her mouth, diverting Coster's attention long enough for Harm to deliver a punch to Coster's cheek sending him flying into a nearby shelf.

Harm landed another punch, this time an uppercut to Coster's jaw knocked the stalker out. Harm rushed over to Mac and pulled the tape off her mouth. "That tracking device was genius!" She said as he cut the ropes that bound her hands behind her back.

"You inspired me, Marine, what can I say?" He smiled at her as he helped her out of the chair.

"I heard the crash from outside; I hope I'm not too late!" Jim Grant came rushing through the door, gun in hand.

"Too late to be of any real help, I took Coster down." Harm pointed over to where the incapacitated man lay. Jim walked over and took the man's pulse before taking out his cell-phone to call 9-1-1.

"Say goodnight Gracie." Jim laughed as the switchboard operator's voice came over the other end of the line. Harm, Mac and Jim stuck around as the police came and took Coster into custody. He was going away for a long time and there was more than enough proof to ensure that he never got out.

MCMURPHY'S TAVERN

WASHINGTON D.C

THE NEXT DAY

The guys were the first people into McMurphy's; they had to set up the stage for that night. When they found out they were playing the Admiral's party, the last few weeks of rehearsal, learning a whole new set, didn't seem like too much to ask. Their new set was fun, more upbeat, exactly what the Admiral had asked for. The few gigs Tiner had played with them, were magic, the band chemistry was so much more fluid and everyone seemed to be having a blast.

They were about to play a fifty-one minute set, longer than anything they had even attempted up until this point. They had all the amps and instruments hooked up and soon they were sitting at the bar waiting for the rest of JAG's senior staff to arrive. Mac, Harriet and Carolyn Imes were the first through the McMurphy's door.

Harm was the first out of his seat, glad to see Mac again, he walked over and kissed her firmly on the lips. "I missed you."

"It's only been two hours and fourteen minutes flyboy, but I missed you too." Mac smiled as she squeezed him into a hug. Next to the happy new couple, Bud and Harriet were engaging in their own welcoming scene. Jim took a look at Commander Imes, a long look, and seizing the time he decided to have a go.

"Commander Imes, can I make a comment without getting a red-light thrown my way?" Jim said with that old recon adventurousness firmly playing up in his expression.

"I think that would be appropriate Colonel." Carolyn replied with her own look intrigue.

"Damn, you look gorgeous, Carolyn." Jim said with a very promising smile on his face. "Almost makes me want to request that you save a dance for me."

"I think that can be arranged, Colonel." Caroline tossed him a flirtatious smile. Soon after the ladies made their entrance, Commander Mattoni entered with his wife and all that was left was for Admiral Chegwidden to show up. Within minutes that's exactly what happened. Admiral Chegwidden showed up with a very young redheaded woman by his side. When he noticed that everyone had gathered and he himself was fashionably late, he made fast introductions.

"The reason I've arranged this little get-together tonight and the reason that D.C's finest caterers are currently working in the McMurphy's kitchen is that I would like all of you to meet my daughter, Francesca Paretti." The Admiral lifted his arm from his daughter's shoulders and she stepped forward to shake everyone's hand. The Admiral went around the room making the necessary introductions. Everyone seemed incredibly willing accept Francesca into the little clique that was the JAG senior staff.

"Alright, enough with the pleasantries, Colonel are you and your boys ready to take over that stage?" The Admiral pointed to the back of the room.

"Aye, aye sir." The four band-mates ran over to the stage and picked up their instruments to prepare for their set. Harm pulled an electric guitar over his shoulders, Jim pulled his bass over his and Bud and Tiner took their respective places near each of their instruments. "Alright, the Admiral asked me a few weeks ago to set up this set and I figured that I could put together a collection of songs that would perfectly compliment the 'upbeat' request he'd made." Jim smiled as he talked into the microphone.

"And then when Jim approached the rest of us and told us we were going to be playing a private party but we were going to have to learn a new set….that's when the enthusiasm died and the work picked up. So we'll try not to screw up too bad." With Harm's little introduction his guitar and Jim's bass lead the intro to the Barenaked Ladies' _It's All Been Done_. The guys were having a great time playing this song, Harm and Jim were bouncing around the stage playing their instruments and the smiles never left their faces. When Harm's guitar solo broke away from the rest of the band the joint really started getting into the music.

As the one song ended, Tiner counted in the next one which was _Lola_ an old Kinks' classic, the lyrics to which made everyone in the bar laugh. The first half of the set continued after _Lola_ with the guys' rendition of _The Boys are Back in Town_ which once again showed off Harm's guitar playing prowess. The set concluded with two old Who songs; _I Can't Explain _and _Join Together_.

After the first half of the set was done, the band took a break and the jukebox took over. Mac and Harriet were lead out to the dance floor by their respective boyfriends and Mattoni went off to dance with his wife. The Admiral and the Colonel sat at the table drinking their beers and talking. The Admiral looked over at Harm and Mac, the latest couple to come out of his command. "So am I to take it that they're dating?"

"To put it mildly, yeah." Jim said as he raised his beer to his lips.

"Am I going to have to pull Admiral's privilege?" AJ said as he leaned back in his chair.

"You'd have to talk to Harm about that one, sir." Jim shot back as he saw both Tiner and Carolyn Imes walk over to where they were sitting.

"Colonel, I believe you owe me a dance." Caroline Imes said as Jim looked up at her.

"You know what, Carolyn; I do believe you're right." Jim got up from the table and lead her out to the dance floor. Tiner was left to face the Admiral who was still sitting next to his daughter.

"Sir, permission to dance with your daughter?" Tiner inquired, hoping that the Admiral would be in a good mood.

"Granted, Tiner." With that the Admiral watched as all the couplings weaved their way across the floor.

Harm and Mac seemed to be just enjoying each other. Their bodies were in pretty much constant contact from head to foot. Bud and Harriet danced in their usual manner, as a kind of sweet, complimentary motion. But by far, the most interesting pairing on the dance floor was Carolyn Imes and Jim Grant. The two of them danced close enough to Mac and Harm that the two of them were able to overhear the conversation.

"So, Colonel is this just a dance or are you taking the long way to a date?" Carolyn's voice was playful as she looked into the hazel eyes of the Recon Colonel.

"Depends, what kind of answer would I get, Commander?" Jim smiled as his hand moved from the side of her waist to the small of her back.

"Green-light Colonel." Carolyn tossed back at him, their faces getting dangerously close.

"When we're done here, why don't we head out for a nightcap?" Jim gave his eyebrows a quick waggle which made Carolyn giggle a little.

"Found a jarhead of your own, Imes?" Harm said as he and Mac danced over toward them.

"Well I think I should test-drive him before I take him off the lot, Rabb." Imes jested. Her comment caught laughs from Harm, Mac and even Jim who looked at her intrigued. After a few dances, the band broke away from their dancing partners to finish their performance. They slung their instruments over their shoulders or took their places near their instruments and prepared to carry on with the second half of their act. Tiner counted them in with his drumsticks.

The second set started with _Running on Empty_ the old Jackson Browne song. The girls sat around the one table and started talking about the guys as they went through their song. "So Mac, how long have you and Harm really been dating?" Harriet asked as she and Carolyn leaned into the table.

"Well, Harm says that we've been dating since we met in the Rose Garden, but technically I suppose it's only really been since yesterday afternoon." Mac blushed as she closed her lips around the straw. The girls gossiped as the guys shifted songs to The Grass Roots' _Things I Should Have Said. _Another fun song the guys were bouncing around the stage again and smiling as they finished the song

When they finished the song, Bud took over the microphone to make an announcement. "I've been in love with Harriet for a long time, since I saw her on the Seahawk in fact and I don't want to go another day without letting her know that. Harriet, will you marry me?" Bud had gotten down on one knee in front of Harriet.

"Yes Bud!" Harriet pulled his face to hers and kissed him on the lips. There were cheers that resonate through the bar as Bud got up quick to finish the set with the band. The guys finished off their set with _Stay With Me_ by The Faces before Harm took over the microphone to make one last announcement.

"Alright, we have one last song but I'm going to need the help of my lovely partner for it." Harm motioned for Mac who came up on to the stage and Jim handed her the second mike. "I've heard her sing along to this song in the car, so I know she knows the words. Tiner counted them in and the band broke into _Paradise by the Dashboard Light._


	13. Perceptions

A/N: With Harm and Mac's relationship as it now stands the rest of Season 3 really can't be the same so with a few exceptions (you'll see later) the episodic rewrites will get sparse. Loved the support for the last chapter! I do have one question though? Do we want to see Jim fall in love? Is our widower Colonel finally ready?

That morning's staff call was full of tension all of it seemed to be emanating from the Admiral. Cases were dispensed to Mac, Bud, Imes, Mattoni and Jim but Harm wasn't handed any cases. Not that he minded it was just out of the ordinary for the Admiral not to hand him work. The last few weeks with Mac had been amazing. She'd practically taken up residence in his apartment; in fact much of the last week had been a seemingly endless date.

"Commander, there's a reason you haven't been given any cases this week, you're being temporarily reassigned." The Admiral's gruff voice pulled Harm out of a pleasant recollection of the night before, of course looking across the table at Mac tended to bring those kind of thought into the front of his mind.

"Reassigned, sir? To where?" Both Harm and Mac's eyes opened wide as the Admiral tented his fingers.

"The Teddy Roosevelt. Captains Wellington and Thomas requested you specifically. Seems the CAG lost another pilot and he wants you to fill in, says you fit in well with the squad." The Admiral supplied as he saw Harm's face contort in confusion.

"Sir, I can't fly at night…"Harm started when the Admiral held up his hand to silence him.

"I told Captain Thomas that, the Captain assures me that's not a problem. You leave for the Roosevelt at 0800 tomorrow morning, dismissed." With that the senior staff got out of their chairs and headed for the door when the Admiral turned to face Harm, Mac, Bud and Jim who were all among the last out of the room.

"Commander, Captain Thomas tells me that your new bunk-mate also put in a special recommendation to have you aboard the cruise for the next six weeks. He said that between you and your new bunkmate, he'll no longer be the craziest pilot over the Adriatic." The Admiral smiled smugly as he turned out of the room.

"Why do I have a feeling you're going to get in trouble on the Roosevelt?" Mac put her index finger on Harm's nose.

"Because I'm going to miss you so much that it's going to drive me to go UA?" He shot back as he placed his hands on her hips.

"Well we can't have that; I don't think I could stand limiting myself to conjugal visits." She stepped into him.

"So this doesn't bug you, me going off like this?" He could tell, she was joking, sure, but her voice would break when she spoke, she was laughing so she didn't cry.

"Harm, it scares me, I know it shouldn't but it does. I can't be there with you, to save you if you get in trouble and you can't be here to comfort me when I worry." Her tears couldn't be held back as they embraced one another.

"It's okay, Sarah; I'll come back to you…to us." He said gingerly as he gave her a squeeze. "Come over tonight." He whispered into her ear.

"Of course." She whispered back before they had to part for their day. Harm had to square away all his paperwork before he secured and went home to pack for his tour. Mac was in court during lunch so Jim ordered some Chinese and the two of them sat in Harm's office, leaning back in their chairs, feet up on the desk and digging into their cardboard boxes full of food.

"Don't break anything on the Roosevelt, if you come back here in more pieces than you left Mac will scramble your brains." Jim laughed as he took a drink of his tea.

"Yeah well don't worry about me. Carrier's my home." Harm said as he dug through the rice.

"Sort of like returning a Panther to the wild?" Jim smiled a little as he picked up his chopsticks.

"How long have you been waiting to make that joke?" Harm tossed him a disappointed look.

"About an hour." Jim replied.

"You should've thought on it longer, it might've actually been funny." The two of them laughed as the mood seemed to sombre.

"We're going to miss you around here, you know that?" Jim said with a very serious quality to his voice.

"You going soft on me, Marine?" Harm smiled to lift the mood.

"Me? Never! I'll just have no one to blame when something goes haywire." There was a silence in the room. "Mac's a Marine, she can take care of herself, she'll be okay."

"Yeah I know it's just…we wasted too much time in the first year of our partnership trying to get the feel for each other, if I'd just followed my damn instinct after the Connors court-martial and asked her out…" It was there that Harm was cut off.

"You two wouldn't be nearly as good friends and everything you said or did she would question as to whether or not you were sincere of just trying to get into her pants. That's how Mac thinks." Jim retorted as he reached for his tea.

"So you're saying it's better that me and her have this year of sexual tension to act on?" Harm look incredulously.

"Basically, yeah." Jim laughed slightly paternal as Harm went back to eating.

"What are you two talking about?" Mac poked her head in through the door in Harm's office.

"Harm keeps saying you've got a better body than Claudia Schiffer and I keep telling him that he's crazy." Jim said nonchalantly as he finished his lunch.

"Is that what my flyboy said?" Mac walked over to Harm seductively, wrapping her arms around his neck.

"I'll just be going now. Remember to pace yourselves kids; it's going to be a long six weeks." Jim said as he closed Harm's office door behind him. The two of them were given permission to secure early and head home so that Harm could get ready to ship out to the Roosevelt the next day. Harm sat on the couch, Mac gently tucked under his arm as he slowly stroked her hair.

"I've got something for you." She said lightly as she reached into her pocket and produced two pictures. Harm took a look at the first picture, it was of the two of them at the NATO Ball the previous year, Bud had taken the picture at the time. Looking at the picture he wondered how he could be so blind. He had his arm around her waist in the photo and they were both beaming. When he flipped to the second picture though his attention was caught.

"A nudie! Mac, when did you have the time to do this and what photographer do I have to kill for actually taking the picture?" Harm smiled as Mac looked up at him coyly.

"Actually I just used the timer on my camera and took the photo and don't worry, Harm, a female friend of mine did the developing so no man has seen me naked since we started dating." She pecked him on the cheek. "I just wanted you to remember what was waiting for you back at home."

"I could never forget you, sweet thing." He kissed her on the top of her head. "I'll write you letters everyday, I may only get the chance to mail them once a week though. So they'll be mailed in sets of seven." He smiled and she laughed.

"I'm going to miss you so much, flyboy." She kissed him on the cheek.

"Hey let's not talk about tomorrow, let's make tonight worth remembering." He smiled and she looked at him seductively as she licked her lips.

"You read my mind, flyboy." She grabbed him by his shirt and led him to the bedroom.

"Wait Mac, before we do, I just wanted to give you this." Harm reached into his pocket and produced a velvet box. Mac opened it and gasped, it was a heart pendant, elegant with one emerald and one ruby. "The red of the ruby to represent your lips, which I love to kiss by the way and the green of the emerald to go with that Marine I love to watch get all passionate and fiery in the courtroom. As a symbol of my promise to you Sarah."

"Promise of what?" She looked into his eyes expecting a definite answer.

"Anything you ask of me." He replied before the passion she was stemming caused her to push him on to the bed.

0800 EST

ANDREW'S AIR FORCE BASE

Mac stood on the tarmac as Harm boarded a plane that was headed for Naples. Mac waved goodbye from the tarmac as Harm watched through the window of the plane. He had kissed her goodnight, she had kissed him good morning, he had kissed her at breakfast and she had kissed him as he got out of the car to run to the plane. The next six weeks were going to be hell, there was no doubting that, but the twenty four hours before had been a little slice of heaven.

The flight to Naples was long and arduous. Harm hated flying when he wasn't the pilot. He hated leaving Mac behind. The only even remotely appealing part of the whole damn assignment was the thought of a Tomcat on a flight deck.

When the plane landed in Naples, Harm walked down the stairs of the private jet two see a familiar face hiding behind a pair of sunglasses, a flight jacket and a blue 'USS Theodore Roosevelt' hat. "Keeter!" Harm walked over and wrapped his friend in a big hug. "So you're gonna be my bunkmate for the next six weeks?"

"Seven weeks technically, Phoenix had you pulled out a week early so he could fix that problem with your eyes." Keeter said as he gave Harm a pat on the back.

"What the hell are you talking about, Keeter?" Harm looked quizzically at his friend.

"It's all right here in the note." Keeter opened a folded piece of paper. "Commander Rabb, a review of your medical profile has revealed that you were more than likely misdiagnosed with night-blindness and you are in fact suffering from a rectifiable case of retinal scarring. Commander Keeter has been instructed to take you to the Naval Medical Centre at Naples to have you evaluated and if my assessment is correct, to have your retinal scarring repaired. Sincerely, Lieutenant Marshall Fitzgibbon Chief Medical Officer USS Theodore Roosevelt." Keeter re-folded the note.

"So you're supposed to take me so that they can fix my eyes?" Harm looked at his friend with a raised eyebrow.

"Just doing as I'm told." Keeter shot back with a smile.

"Since when have you ever done that?" Harm jostled back as the two men walked over to the Naval Medical Centre.

Harm went in to have the procedure done right away, the CAG on the TR had made the appointment well ahead of time. Keeter paced in the hallway outside waiting for the procedure to be done. When it was, he went in to see the doctor and Harm. "Alright, Commander Rabb, I'm going to have to order you to stay out of the air for the next week and than you can have the flight surgeon aboard the TR check you out before you return to full flight status." The doctor said as he examined Harm's eyes.

"Alright, so does this mean I should be able to trap on a carrier at night?" Harm looked hopefully up at the doctor

"Yes Commander, you should be perfectly able to execute night traps on a carrier. Now Captain Thomas called to inform me that I'm to place you in the custody of Commander Keeter, so that's what I'm going to do." The doctor signed off on the last piece of paperwork. "There you go, gentlemen, have fun and hand these to the nurse on your way out would you?"

Harm and Keeter walked down the corridor to the main administrative desk where they handed the paperwork to the nurse on duty. "Hey buddy what would you say to a little fettuccine? I know this great place a few blocks away."

"You're on, Keeter." Harm shot back as the two men walked out of the building. Harm was a million miles away, sure physically he was walking through Naples with his old Academy buddy but his heart and his mind were fixed on DC, on Mac, on what she might be doing at that exact moment. Whatever Keeter was saying, Harm found himself completely unable to focus on it.

"Buddy, what's on your mind, you look like you're trying figure out the female mind or something." Keeter laughed as Harm looked over at him having only caught the word 'female'.

"Nothing, it's just someone – thing, something I left at home." Harm smiled trying to cover his slip; going soft was a good way for a pilot to tarnish his reputation.

"Oh my God, dare I believe some woman has managed to tame the great Hammer? It can't be true." Keeter said, a great laugh escaping from his chest.

"Shut up, Keeter." Harm shot back with a laugh of his own.

"Oh, you got it bad, buddy. Who is she? Knowing you she's probably a Redskins cheerleader, or maybe a weather-girl." Keeter suggested as the two of them sat down to dinner. Keeter took a drink of his water as Harm deliberated whether to tell Keeter.

"She's a Marine." Harm's statement had caused Keeter to spray the table with water in disbelief.

"A Marine? Your head screwed on straight, buddy?" Keeter couldn't help but laugh.

"Keeter, you've got to meet this woman; she's amazing, she could hit on you and kick your ass all in the same motion." Harm protested.

"Alright, Romeo, just do what normal married pilots do, keep a picture of her in your flight suit and keep the gushing to a minimum. I'll try to ignore the fact that you didn't invite me to the wedding." Keeter was still laughing as he wrapped some fettuccine on his fork.

"We're not married, hell we just started dating." Harm informed his friend and found he'd once again made him laugh.

"And she's got you thinking of her like this after only fourteen hours of separation? Oh buddy, you're in trouble." Keeter raised the fork to his mouth. "I think I should tell all this to the CAG, it could result in a new call-sign for you. How about _Lovesick?_"

"How about _Friend-beater_?" Harm shot back.

"Okay, okay, sheesh since when did you get touchy?" Keeter looked offended as the two men ate their dinners and went back to the VOQ to get a little rack time before getting on a helo the next morning and heading for the Teddy Roosevelt.

The next morning came on fast; Harm and Keeter were dragged out of bed at 0600 by a call from Captain Thomas who had called them just to get them out of bed at 0600. They got ready for the helo and were soon over the Adriatic on their way to the Teddy Roosevelt. When the helo landed on the flight deck, there was a crowd gathered waiting for them.

On the deck, that CAG and his Panthers were awaiting the arrival of the helo. Along with them was Captain Wellington who was preparing to conduct a ceremony on the deck. Harm stepped off the helo with Keeter and the CAG shouted at the pair of them, his voice barely audible over the propeller blades of the helo. "It's about time the two of you got here Keeter; you almost made Rabb late for his own medal ceremony!" Harm looked puzzled as Captain Wellington called over to him.

"Lieutenant Commander Rabb, front and centre!" Wellington and Thomas stood side by side at the front while the Panthers stood in formation facing them. Harm stepped between the Panthers and the senior officers, facing Captain Wellington. "For his actions in saving the life of Captain Mitchell Thomas in the skies over Bosnia, after volunteering for flight duty, despite being designated as a JAG Lawyer. Lieutenant Commander Harmon Rabb Junior, it is my honour to present you with this Distinguished Flying Cross on the behalf of the President of the United States and the Secretary of the Navy." Captain Wellington reached out and pinned Harm's second DFC to his chest and saluted him. "Congratulations Commander."

"Thank you sir!" Harm replied, returning the salute. After Wellington shouted 'dismissed!' Harm was practically mauled by Panthers willing to pat him on the back and congratulate him for getting his second DFC.

"Great to have you back aboard, Commander, I'll be sitting backseat for you." The voice was the familiar one of Lieutenant Jeff '_Trapper'_ McIntyre who had sat backseat for Harm earlier on the TR.

"Nice to be back, _Trapper_." Harm gave his new RIO a pat on the shoulder.

"Keeter told us about your dad, Rabb and we figured that since you saved my six a few months back, you should probably have this." The CAG tossed Harm a helmet that had the name 'Hammer' written across the front. Harm looked at it absolutely stunned. "Captain Wellington, back when he was known as 'Duke', served with your dad on board the Hornet, he said, you deserved to have that helmet and the Panthers agreed with him."

"Thanks, CAG." Harm said with a note of complete surprise in his voice.

"What did I say back in Naples about gushing?" Keeter looked at his friend trying to pull him out of his trance.

"Shut up, Keeter!" The CAG voiced Harm's very sentiment, even cuffing Jack upside the head.

"Hey! That's abuse!" Keeter said with mock protest.

"Only if someone reports it." The CAG shot back. "Alright, Hammer, the Panthers need an XO, when those bullets tore up _Nighthawk_'s canopy last week and put him in sickbay I lost mine. I need to keep you occupied in the time between now and your check-up with the flight surgeon, so until then and for the remainder of your time on this cruise, you're my XO with the Panthers, you got it?"

"Aye, aye CAG." With that the Panthers headed into the superstructure and prepared for another day in the life of an aviator aboard the TR. Keeter showed Harm to their quarters with something of a rather traditional greeting.

"She ain't much, but she's home." Keeter walked in and stepped off to the side so Harm could join him.

"You saved me the top bunk?" Harm looked at Keeter quizzically.

"You're getting up there, old-timer, I just figured it'd be funny watching you groan as you climb in and out of it everyday." Keeter slugged Harm in shoulder.

"Old-timer, you're just as old as I am, Keeter, in fact you're a few months older." Harm tossed back.

"Yeah but I'm single, that automatically gives me two years on you committed types." Keeter laughed as he threw himself down on his rack. "I got night patrol tonight, so I'm going to hit the rack, have fun with your duties, XO."

Harm walked out of his quarters and toward the CAG's state room to get his duties. He would have to get used to this, being on a carrier wasn't a foreign experience, it was like a home, but that was the Seahawk, this was the TR a Nimitz-class, much bigger and more complex than the Seahawk. Wellington and Thomas were renowned as fleet officers for their inclusion of women aboard ship; the CAG had eight female pilots and four female RIOs under his command and Captain Wellington's male-to-female ratio for the rest of the crew was almost as impressive.

The TR was painted up as the model of the new Navy and for a brief period of time, Harm was going to be one of the most senior men in the Navy's newest model crew. He found the hatch to the CAG's stateroom wide open and the CAG sitting at his desk pouring over flight rosters. "You want to give me my duties, CAG?" Harm came to attention in front of his superior officer.

"Yes, Commander, from what I'm hearing from high command, we're going to have a busy week ahead of us and because my XO isn't on flight status I'm going to be up in the air with every Panther patrol which means I won't have time to file a lot of the paperwork I'm supposed to get done, you Commander, are to spend every Panther patrol on the bridge and cover most of my paperwork, is that understood?" The CAG never even looked up from his desk as he spoke.

"Aye, aye CAG." Harm responded.

"Anything planned for today, Commander? The Panthers aren't on patrol until 2100." The CAG once again never lifted his eyes from his paper.

"I suppose I could write my girlfriend, sir." Harm said cautiously.

"How is the Major?" The CAG sounded so nonchalant that one would think this to be a conversation between old friends.

"You don't dance around issues, do you, CAG?" Harm responded.

"One of the things that's gotten me where I am. How is she, Harm?" The CAG finally looked up from his desk, his demeanour suddenly more friendly.

"Upset that I was pulled out of JAG to be here for seven weeks, sir." Harm replied as he took a seat in one of the chairs in the CAG's stateroom.

"I told you that the Skipper told me she was concerned for you when you flew last time you were here." The CAG was fast becoming a friend.

"Why did you request me, sir?" Harm looked puzzled.

"Part of every great squad is chemistry. They have to be a family. When you flew with us last time, your exchanges with _Trapper, Archangel, Temptress_ and myself told me that you fit with this squadron. When I needed a temporary replacement the first time I understood that you needed to get things back home squared away. But when I needed someone this time I knew there was only one pilot for the job."

"I appreciate it, especially that stunt you pulled to have my night-vision fixed, you must've had to call in some pretty heavy favours for that one." Harm tried to sound impressed and grateful.

"Nothing too laborious, I do have two nurses that require dates on our next liberty now though, so my dance card is full." The CAG heaved an understated laugh.

"Let me get this straight, you get the pilot you want to add to your squadron and you get dates with two nurses for your next liberty?" Harm looked on in disbelief.

"Not just nurses, young, pretty, raven-haired nurses." The CAG added.

"It's great to be the CAG, isn't it?" Harm mocked.

"Fantastic!" The CAG replied as Harm headed back to his quarters. Harm came back to his quarters only to find a sleeping and snoring Jack Keeter sprawled out on the bottom bunk. Harm took out a pen and a piece of paper and started to write a letter home.

_Dear Mac,_

_How you doing sweet thing? You'll never believe it but two amazing things have happened since I got here. When I landed in Naples I found out that my bunkmate for the cruise was going to be Jack Keeter, my old roommate from the Academy. I also got my second DFC for my flying last time we came out to the TR. God, it's barely been more than a day and I still miss you like crazy. I must've looked at that picture you gave me at least a hundred times and no it's not the picture you're thinking of, though I've looked at that one too. It's the one of us at the NATO Ball; you just look so beautiful and happy in that picture Sarah. _

_Hope all is well back at Falls Church, hope Harriet isn't driving everyone nuts with the wedding plans and I hope you aren't getting roped into babysitting for Jim._

_Love,_

_ Your Flyboy_

Harm put the letter in and envelope and tucked the envelope under his pillow. He had six more letters to write that week and they were all going home to Mac in the same envelope.

Over the course of the next week, Harm had re-adjusted to carrier life. He loved being on the bridge during the patrols. He loved the cock-and-bull stories that the Panthers exchanged in the Ready Room and in the Officer's Wardroom. He loved being able to go out to Vulture's Row and watch the planes come in and trap the wires. He loved it all but it made him miss Mac all the more. On Saturday, after he'd had his appointment with the flight surgeon in which he was cleared for active flight status, Harm dropped his envelope complete with seven letters off to be mailed home.

When he walked back to his quarters he was greeted by the now familiar sight of Jack Keeter, sprawled out on his bunk. Jack wasn't asleep, just resting, his face covered by his blue USS Theodore Roosevelt hat. "Hell of a thing these last three years, Harm old buddy." Jack's voice rang clear through his cap.

"Sure has been." Harm closed the hatch behind him.

"First Luke…" Keeter started.

"Then Diane." Harm finished.

"You still carry around her picture, I see." Keeter lifted the hat off his face just to make his eyes visible for a second.

"What the hell are you talking about, Keeter?" Harm's eyes opened wide with alarm.

"That picture in your sea-bag with the two of you at some fancy dress shindig." Keeter supplied the information readily. Harm knew he was talking about the picture of him and Mac at the NATO Ball.

"Keeter, that's not Diane, that's my girlfriend Mac." Harm informed his friend. In reaction to Harm's words, Keeter pulled his hat off his face and sat up in his bunk.

"Come again?" The aviator said as he made the motion like he was trying to clean wax out of his ears.

"That picture was taken at last year's NATO Ball; the woman in the picture is Mac, my girlfriend." Harm still couldn't get over how good it felt to say that about Mac.

"You've got to be shitting me. How is it you manage to date two women who look like that in the span of five years? Whatever your secret is, I want in on it." Keeter laughed as he fell back on to his bunk. That Saturday had indeed been a full day. It had been his last day flying a desk as an XO, the flight surgeon and the mail drop-off had all happened right before dinner and now, after dinner it was time to hit the rack.

The lights were out in their quarters as the two old friends just laid in their respective bunks staring at what was above them. "Harm?" The voice came from the bottom bunk.

"Yeah Jack."

"It's good to be rooming together again."

"Sure is, buddy."

"Not quite like the old days, though."

"Better in some ways."

"Let's hope it stays that way." With that the two men drifted off to sleep. Soon, Harm's week revolved around his Saturday mail call. After two weeks aboard the TR, he'd flown patrols and dogfights and written home about them and Mac's letters were always humorous and they kept him up to date on the goings on at Falls Church. There was one mail call that Harm knew he'd never forget though.

It was a week before the TR was to go on liberty in Naples and when the mail bag came, Mac was not the only member of the JAG family at Falls Church who had decided to write Harm.

_Hey Harm,_

_Jim here, I know this may sound like a weird request but can you please sleep with your girlfriend. Hear me out before you kill me. In the last three weeks, Mac has been in one very foul mood, the theory that the Admiral and I have developed is that Mac has been missing you in the biblical sense and as such is wound tighter than a Spanish guitar string. We've brought Bud up to speed on our theory and even though he mostly just nods, we can tell he agrees with us whole-heartedly, even if Harriet thinks we're corrupting him. _

_The Admiral and I arranged it that Mac could meet you for your liberty in Naples, please do, everyone at JAG a favour and loosen Mac up at little (did not mean that like it sounded). I heard about your DFC, congrats. _

_Rock'n'Roll!_

_ Colonel Jim Grant_

Harm couldn't help but laugh at the letter; he even passed the letter to Keeter so that Keeter could get a kick out of it. He then proceeded to tear open the one he got from Mac.

_My Hunk of a Flyboy,_

_I want you, scratch that, I NEED you. I got leave to meet you on liberty and we are only leaving the hotel room so that I can meet that friend of yours. You want to know how badly I need you? I've started reading books just so I can think of things to do to you when I meet you in Naples. Damn you Flyboy! It's been harder than you can imagine to function these last few weeks, I'm a Marine, this is not supposed to happen, I'm not supposed to miss you this much. But every time I tell myself that, I scold myself for saying it and I miss you even more. Italy will be so romantic, that is, if we can ever get our clothes on long enough to go do something._

_Love,_

_ Your Sweet Thing_

"I can't let you read this one Keeter." Harm said with a slight stammer as he folded up the letter and slid it back into the envelope.

"Who cares, this Colonel buddy of yours is hilarious!" Keeter responded between laughs. "Harm, you'll never believe who's meeting up with me on liberty."

"Who?" Harm's asked with a boyish inquisitiveness.

"An old friend of ours; Maria Elena Carmelita Moreno Gutierrez." It was the first time that Keeter had properly pronounced all of her names and he was exceedingly proud of that.

"You've got to be kidding me." Harm was once again in complete disbelief. "Sounds like it's going to be one hell of a liberty, Commander Keeter."

"You got that right, Commander Rabb."


	14. Checkpoint

A/N: This is a stepping-stone chapter, something I needed to use to bridge the first third of the story into the next third. Hope you like it!

The gangplank that led from the TR to the pier at Naples was where Harm's eyes locked on her for the first time in a month. God, she was beautiful, there was such depth, such warmth in those big chocolate brown eyes. She was elated to see him and he was just as overjoyed to see her. He practically bowled over half of the people on the gangplank and their relatives on the pier to get to her. She ran toward him with equal speed and the two of them met in the middle of the pier collecting each other's lips in a savage kiss.

"God, I've been dreaming of that for a month." He whispered into her ear as he pulled her into a tight embrace.

"Oh, I've been dreaming of a lot more than that for the last month, sailor." Mac replied as she pulled back to look into his eyes.

"So your letter told me." He chuckled a little as he took her in. She looked the perfect woman in that moment, than again, in his eyes she always looked the perfect woman. In a comfortable pair of jeans and a black tank top, she was feminine but still that tough Marine who captured his heart. She wore the pendant he'd given her with pride as it fell just north of her heart.

"Yeah, well I wrote that after one night of rather intense reading." She smiled at him coyly.

"Right, one of these books you bought so you could possess new methods of having your way with me." He tried to sound offended but couldn't contain his smile.

"I think you'll be pleasantly surprised with some of the things I picked up." She tossed back as he slung his arm over her shoulders and they started walking off the pier, her arm being strategically located around his waist. At that moment a panting Jack Keeter caught up with the two of them.

"I've been trying to catch you two for the last four blocks; you two have to be the fastest casual walkers I've ever met." Jack was bent over trying to catch his breath.

"Where are my manners? Mac, Jack. Jack, Mac." Harm chuckled at the rhyme under his breath.

"You'd better laugh, he's been practising that introduction for the last week aboard ship." Jack said as he stood up and shook Mac's hand. Mac laughed at Jack's comment. "Lieutenant Commander Jack Keeter."

"Major Sarah MacKenzie." Mac shook the hand of the man whom Harm had mentioned in so many letters. "So you went to the Academy with Harm, huh? Why don't you join us for dinner and regale me with a few stories of my flyboy in his younger days?" Mac smiled as a look of instant worry coloured Harm's features.

"You mean like the time me and Sturgis got him really drunk and painted his ass Marine Green?" Jack's breath had come back to him as he started to walk in stride with the two of them.

"You didn't?" Mac looked at Keeter, her surprise evident.

"We sure did, we were a few miles outside Annapolis and we stole his pants, painted his ass and made him chase the car for five clicks." Keeter's face broke into it's own 'flyboy grin' as he recounted the incident while Harm hung his head in shame.

"See Harm these are the kind of stories that the people at JAG should hear." She nudged him in the ribs.

"Not unless you want them to find out where your tattoo is." Harm gave her a 'gotcha Marine' look. Mac's mouth hung open in surprise.

"Wait, she's got a tattoo? Hammer you're going to have to tell me where it is when we get back on board ship." Keeter was smiling from ear to ear.

"You do and you sleep alone for the entire month after you get home, flyboy." Mac turned toward him and pointed her index finger right in his face. He made the motion like he was going to bite it which made Mac retract her finger.

"Hey, would you two save the biting for your hotel room!" Keeter interjected as they neared the restaurant.

"Fine, we'll hold off only so we don't embarrass you Keeter." Harm shot back.

"That's all I ask, well, that and to be fed." Keeter laughed as they entered the restaurant. A table for three was soon found for them and Jack started to entertain Mac with stories of Harm's days at the Academy. Harm was just trying to hide his head in embarrassment ad Mac laughed boisterously at Jack's commentary.

"You know, I could tell her some stories about you at the Academy." Harm challenged.

"Me? I was a saint." Keeter protested.

"Keeter, it's pronounced 'Satan'" Harm quipped and Mac laughed as their meal came. The couple behaved like newlyweds, feeding each other dinner, these actions of course earned several comical vomiting impressions. Once dinner was done, Harm and Mac parted ways with Jack and went off to Mac's hotel room. "You know how badly I missed you? Just missed seeing you, holding you?"

"Probably as bad as I missed you." She was so loving in her expression as she wrapped her arms around his neck.

"God, we sound like a couple of teenagers." He laughed as he wrapped his arms around her waist and cradled her into him.

"Hopelessly, passionately in love?" She questioned as he opened the door to her room.

"Something like that." He replied as he gave her a quick kiss on the lips. He couldn't believe it, one month was a long time, a very long time when you're trapped aboard a super-carrier and all you can do is think about someone thousands of miles away. "God, your pictures don't do you justice you know that?"

"Why are you so good to me?" It was a sombre admission, for the first time in her life, someone was giving of themselves, willingly and giving it to her.

"You've earned it, Sarah. I can't say enough or do enough to show you how much you've earned it." He said in a low husky tone, his face mere millimetres from hers.

"How?" Her questioning, it was part of what made her who she was, part of what made her so damned attractive in his eyes

"By just being you." He answered as every ounce of honesty and sincerity contained within his person found its way to his eyes. She slowly drew her lips to his as she pulled him back on to the bed.

The next few days were a bliss interrupted only by sleep and room service until reality invaded their lives once again before Harm had to rejoin the crew on the TR.

"Mac, I don't ever want this to end and as long as I'm on the TR, it doesn't have to but when we get back to the JAG, aren't we going to have to deal with fraternization?" His eyes were dripping with concern, like he'd finally considered the one thing that could take all of this away from them.

"I thought about the same thing, but I got a little help from higher brass." Mac smiled as she picked through the bacon and eggs that had been delivered to the room by room service.

"Higher brass?" Harm's interest was peaked as he sat behind her on the edge of the bed with his arms around her waist and his head on her shoulder.

"I know he'd been putting it off but eventually the Admiral called me into his office and confronted me on the issue. Luckily for me, I had representative council who had offered to help me with this issue." Mac smiled as she reflected on that encounter.

"Our friendly neighbourhood Marine Colonel?" Harm said knowingly.

"That's right. Before two words could leave my mouth he laid out a perfectly cogent legal argument for Chegwidden that basically stated that until proof of something more than a few late night work sessions and friendly kisses, arose, fraternization was unsubstantiated because there was no forthcoming proof." The two of them smiled at the fact that they were temporarily safe.

"The Admiral bought that?" Harm sounded remarkably surprised.

"Bought it? The Admiral argued that Jim should present that argument to the Supreme Court, he might just get the fraternization regulation overturned." Mac laughed as Harm gave her a kiss on the cheek.

"So we're only safe from trouble until we decide to move beyond dating, is that what you're telling me?" Harm kissed her cheek lightly.

"As I understand the argument. That means until you knock me up or we get engaged flyboy, we're safe from the UCMJ." The two of them laughed as though the suggestion was ludicrous but the very real possibility was harboured in the back of both of their minds.

"Don't we just look like the perfect image of the modern couple?" He said as his head nodded toward the mirror. "Two working professionals, sitting here on a Sunday morning, in cotton hotel bathrobes, you with a towel around your soaking wet hair just eating breakfast and cuddling."

"Since when did you become so sentimental?" She was surprised but her heart was warmed by this side of him.

"Hey don't spread it around; us aviators have a reputation to protect." He smiled as he kissed her behind the ear and sent shivers down her spine. "All this time and you still get shivers when I do that."

"I'll start worrying when I don't." She replied as she raised another forkful of eggs to her mouth. "I can't believe that I have to take you back to the ship today, that it's going to be three weeks before I see you again."

"We got through the first month, those are supposed to be the toughest, don't worry, Sarah, I'm coming home." He said as he just held her with a sort of reverence.

"I know." Her voice was barely more that a whisper. "We should probably get ready to take you back." She pushed the room service tray away, grabbed her uniform and went into the bathroom to get ready.

A few minutes later the two of them were ready to head back to the pier. Harm had his summer whites on and Mac had her khakis. "You ready, Marine?" He smiled at her as she walked out of the bathroom.

"Ready as I'll ever be, flyboy, let's go." She smiled as the two of them walked out of the hotel room, gently closing the door behind them. The two of them walked up to the pier where the TR was docked in a companionable and loving silence. They held each other's hand and their fingers intertwined. When they reached the pier it was time for one final departure.

"I'll see you soon sweet thing, just remember, I'll always be right here." He fingered the necklace around her neck.

"Damn you! You being sweet just makes this more difficult." She said with a false indignation. "I love you, flyboy and I'll miss you." She pulled him into her, her arms around his neck as she attempted to use his shoulder to quash her sobs.

"As much as it's contrary to my nature as a romantic to break up this little heart-wrenching scene, we gotta get a move on,_ Hammer_." Harm turned around to see Keeter and the CAG standing behind him.

"They're right, sailor, you've gotta go." Mac gave him a loving pat on the chest as she gently released him from the hug and he hesitantly walked toward his friends. As the three of them started to walk toward the ship Mac decided to have a little fun. "Jack! Mitch!" Keeter and the CAG turned when they heard their names called and Harm turned out of curiosity as to why his girlfriend was yelling for his friends. "You bring him back!" Mac called.

"Yes, Mom!" The two men replied simultaneously and smiled as they walked alongside Harm back to the TR. It was amazing how any time spent flying with a good squad helped you feel like you had a family. That's what the Panthers were fast becoming for Harm, another family. It was funny for Harm, watching the Panthers in their natural habitat, everyone had their little roles, he understood what it might be like for the Admiral back at headquarters to watch him and his friends.

There were some definite comparisons between these people and the folks back at JAG. It was funny watching two people, as obviously attracted to each other as the CAG and _Temptress _were, dance around each other by tossing little innuendos here and there and having awkward physical moments because of sexual tension. _Trapper_, his RIO, was so much like Bud that it was scary. _Trapper _was into sci-fi, he was kind of the little brother in the squad but he was always a surprise when it came to actually performing in his duty. Lieutenant Mark _Archangel_ Angel, was a young Jim Grant, his wit and his macho attitude merely a front for a very fraternal and very protective man.

Being on this cruise, even though it was technically a war cruise, was different, this didn't feel like a job for Harm, in fact the only thing that made it impossible for him to fully enjoy was the fact that Mac wasn't there with him. Harm had actually had a rather amusing dream where all the Panthers, including Keeter, were kids and he and Mac had to tuck them all in at night. The most amusing scene being Mac placing a tiny kiss on the forehead of the young Jack Keeter, something Keeter, even in his dream seemed to enjoy way too much.

"You going to write your girlfriend tonight?" Keeter asked as they headed to their quarters for the night.

"You've asked me that every night since I got here and what has my response always been?" Harm said condescendingly as he through himself up on his bunk.

"Alright Romeo, write Juliet, than get some sleep, we got a patrol at 0400 that the CAG will personally wring our necks for if we sleep too late." Keeter mumbled audibly into his pillow.

"Say goodnight, Gracie." Harm said as he started to scribble a letter down on to his legal pad.

"Goodnight Gracie." Jack's voice came up from the bottom bunk. Above, Harm finished his letter to Mac and clicked the light off to catch some sleep.

The next three weeks were a blur, a big blur. There seemed to be little of anything in between patrols, meals and of course Saturdays. Saturday would forever have a special meaning for him because of this cruise, Saturdays were when he sent and received letters. Saturdays were also the nights that he, Jack and the CAG spent out on Vulture's Row smoking cigars.

"They say you're going to be sitting in the big chair for one of these one day, CAG." Keeter let out a puff of smoke.

"I'm not sure I'm that close to the top of the Pentagon's list, but serving aboard the TR has been the most fun I've had since Annapolis. Which reminds me, Commander Rabb, there's a story circulating on the ship that says that Commander Keeter and some of your other friends painted…" Harm interrupted the CAG.

"It's true; I'm still waiting to get Keeter back for that one." Harm laughed as he gave Keeter a pat on the back. "Still, CAG, it'll be a hell of a thing, you could be one of the first forty year-old Skippers in the Navy."

"Not important. Boys, I'm going to give you some advice, my pappy gave me once. Not a damn thing in life matters, what matters is the people you share it with." The CAG inhaled a smoke and casually blew a smoke ring. "That's why I'd be a happy man just being the CAG for the Panthers until they laid me in the ground. It's the people here that make me the pilot I am, it has nothing to do with me."

"There some all inspiring point to this speech, CAG?" Keeter cut in, his curiosity working double time.

"Just trying to say how proud I am of the two of you and how great it's been having you two on this tour." The CAG nodded at the two men. "See last time he was here I gave Commander Rabb some advice and he actually took it. So I figured I should tell him that I'm happy he could see my wisdom."

"You're getting at something what is it?" Harm looked suspicious.

"Fishing for a wedding invitation." The CAG fired back earning a round of laughter.

"Only if you bring _Temptress_." Harm replied with a sly grin on his face.

"I'll see what I can do about that." The CAG responded with a smile and a Groucho Marx-like shaking of his cigar. The tour was passing fast, everyday seemed to get faster and faster and all Keeter could do was remark that life was supposed to go by fast in a supersonic aircraft. There weren't really any dogfights to be had, just patrols and by the second week the Roosevelt was headed out of the Med and back toward Norfolk.

In their weeks in the Atlantic, heading with all speed back toward home, the Panthers had developed a rather intense poker game in the wardroom. It was just the regular six of them. Harm, Keeter, _Trapper, Archangel, Temptress_ and the CAG.

"You called all in on a lousy pair of deuces?" Keeter sounded shocked and rightfully indignant.

"It bluffed you out of the pot and you had a flush!" _Archangel_ shot back with a smile as Keeter got out of the chair paced back and forth.

"I still can't believe that the two of you are heading home tomorrow, being a Panther's just not going to be the same without the two of you." _Trapper_ supplied as he took a drink.

"You got that right _Trapper_; these two might be two of the craziest SOBs I've ever met, but it's been a damn honour to fly with them." _Temptress_ added as she leaned back in her chair. For all her tenacity and foul mouth, Lieutenant Jennifer _Temptress_ Kraft was a remarkable woman, she knew damn well that every single Panther, except for Harm, wanted to sleep with her and somehow it didn't seem to matter to her. She was about five-foot-eight with dirty blonde hair and a body that would make most men and some women sweat.

"I'd say this calls for a toast." The CAG and the rest of the regular Panthers rose from their chairs and raised their glasses. "To _Hammer_ and _Keeter_, it was damn good of them to spend some time in the jungle as Panthers."

"Cheers!" _Archangel_ added from his seat. The glasses all clinked and their drinks were downed.

"Now, since I'm the CAG around these parts, I decree that _Archangel_ and_ Trapper _can got hit the rack so that _Temptress_ and I can play against our two departing Panthers in a farewell game of euchre." The CAG smiled and laughed as the two Panthers sulked out of the room and Harm and Keeter took their places at the table. "Alright you two, you feel enough like heroes for the night?"

"Yeah well, we did save your six by coming out here for the remainder of the cruise CAG." Harm smiled as the CAG dealt the cards.

"Yeah, yeah well only Keeter here really saw any action, that night _Nighthawk_ got shot up Keeter really saved his six." The CAG retorted.

"How are _Nighthawk_ and _Wolfman_ doing?" Keeter piped up.

"_Nighthawk_ will never fly again; his injuries were just too extensive. _Wolfman_ is suffering from one very intense case of PTSD and is being examined at Bethesda." The CAG's tone was sombre as he looked up from his card.

"The dangers of going up in the air." _Temptress _added as she threw a card down on the table.

"Almost as dangerous as never coming back down again." Harm said as he threw down a card of his own. That night passed rather quickly, and by 0600 the next morning Harm and Keeter were packing to board the Helo back that was going to take them to Andrews. The Panthers gathered on the flight deck to say goodbye to them, it was as emotional a scene as aviator pride would allow for. Harm and the CAG stood facing each other shaking hands.

"Remember, I want a wedding invitation!" The CAG shouted over the sound of the propeller blades.

"You have to bring _Temptress_!" Harm shouted back.

"I talked to her about that, she thought it was a damn good idea!" The CAG had a wide smile on his face as he gave Harm a fraternal pat on the shoulder.

"Looks like you always get what you want, CAG." Harm smiled right back.

"We'll see." With that, the two men parted ways, the CAG headed back toward the Panthers and Harm joined Keeter aboard the Helo.

"You ready to go back to being just a lawyer?" Keeter asked with more than a hint of sarcasm in his voice.

"I'm more than a lawyer my friend." Harm smiled as the door to the Helo closed and they were on their way to Andrews. The Helo ride was a little shaky but it was nothing compared to the reception that awaited Harm back in DC. When the Helo touched down, the familiar but unexpected face of Petty Officer Jason Tiner was awaiting Harm's arrival on the tarmac. As the door to the Helo opened Tiner reached up and grabbed Harm by the sleeve of his summer whites and proceeded to drag him to a waiting car. "Tiner! Where's the fire?" Harm stopped to look at the Petty Officer who was pale and shaking.

"Sir, you'll have to excuse me for dispensing with the formalities but Colonel Grant told me that if I didn't get you to JAG Headquarters right away, he'd tan my ass eight shades of crimson." Tiner hopped into the driver's seat and Harm got into the shotgun seat.

"Tiner, what's going on?" Harm had this sickening, sinking feeling in the pit of his stomach. Tiner peeled the car out of Andrew's and made a break-neck run for Falls Church ignoring and breaking every speed limit in between.

"Sir, I don't know any of the details all I know is it's urgent and it has something with the Major's current assignment." Tiner managed to get out between weaving lane changes. In what had to be some kind of record, Jason Tiner had gotten himself and Harm to JAG without getting pulled over or in an accident. Harm rushed through the building and into the elevator with Tiner right beside him. "Sir, I think you should breath or you're going to pass out."

"I can't Tiner, I feel like something's caught in my throat and it isn't going to un-catch until I find out what's going on with Mac." When the elevator bell dinged, Harm sprinted through the bullpen and into the Admiral's office with Tiner following like a loyal dog, right on his heels.

"Okay, now he's here, Webb, whatever you've got to tell us had better be good." The Admiral was his usual intimidating self as he walked over and confronted Webb.

"As you all know, Major MacKenzie was working on a delegation to negotiate a jurisdictional oil dispute between Iran and Russia involving one of our major defence contractors. A few days ago she didn't show up to the conference and her disappearance went noticed rather quickly by all those concerned. The Major was kidnapped by Syrian Hezbollah terrorists who remembered the part that you all played in that incident in the downing of those Syrian MiGs a few months back. A few hours ago we were given an ultimatum; it said that we had ten days to pay ten million dollars for the Major's safe release or they were going to kill her." Webb finished and found a bunch of scowling faces staring back at him.

"You no good son of a bitch!" Harm walked over and hoisted Webb up by the collar against the wall. "I knew one of your ops were going to end up like this, what did you have her doing behind the scenes, Webb? Gathering intelligence on the Iranians?" Harm's voice was a combination of swelled anger and sarcasm.

"As you know, it is not the policy of this government to negotiate with terrorists." Secretary Nelson got up from the couch in the office.

"Which is political doublespeak for you're going to let Mac die out in the Syrian desert some place." Jim Grant cut in.

"There's nothing else we can do Colonel, Commander." Nelson looked from Harm to Jim and then back at Harm.

"Maybe not, but there's something we can do. Admiral, requesting leave for Commander Rabb and myself?" Jim voice was forceful but stoic.

"Granted, I'll look after David; just bring yourselves and Mac back in the same amount of pieces you left in." The Admiral nodded and sat back in his chair.

"Your request for leave is denied, Colonel; I can't have officers traipsing around Syria." Secretary Nelson cut in but neither Harm nor Jim was in the mood to deal with him in their normal way.

"Listen Alex, you have two options, either you let me go around you or you force me to go through you. Alex, you know that you don't have the political clout to withstand the shit-storm I can raise when me and Harm bring Mac back alive, I can bury you in the ground so far that Beijing will be a local call, now are you going to get out of my way or not?" Jim's eyes were on fire and his lips all but disappeared as he stared down the Secretary of the Navy.

"Fine, go, but don't get yourselves killed." The SECNAV threw himself back into the Admiral's couch.

"I'm coming with you!" Bud called as he watched two of his friends walk out of the office. "I'm Major MacKenzie's friend too and there's no way you're leaving and not taking me."

"Bud, you're a true and loyal friend, but have you ever fired a gun in anger?" Jim looked at him with an almost paternal expression.

"No." Bud's response was sombre.

"Bud, you're right we're going to need help, but I'm not going to risk one of my closest friend's just as they're about to get married." Jim gave Bud a pat on the back.

"Lieutenant Roberts may never have fired a gun in anger, but I have." Clayton Webb stepped forward. "I'm going with you, I don't know why but I feel responsible for this one."

"Make sure you got your gun and some money and any info we're going to need to find her." Jim motioned for Webb to join Harm and himself. "Harm, do you know anyone you can trust that'll go with us?"

"I'll call Keeter, who you going to call?" Harm looked up; he knew a Recon Marine had to have some kind of plan.

"Two people you know, Frank Stryker and Bill Koonan. I wish I could call Matt, desert warfare and his love for Mac would be real assets here." Jim shook his head as he and Harm pulled out their respective phones. "Webb, get us on a plane to Damascus and get in touch with a good arms dealer, a lot of people are going to die before we're done here."

"Keeter? It's Harm, listen, I need you to go to Dulles, I'll explain later, bring whatever guns you've got." Harm's voice rang with great urgency.

"Frank? Listen, I need to call in a favour, meet me at Dulles, this is going to be a biggy, so bring whatever you need." Jim clicked his phone off before dialling the second number. "Wild Bill? Jim Grant here, listen I know you're retired but I need you to meet me at Dulles in an hour, we're going back into the field and we're going in hard so bring whatever life support you need."

"Three Recon Marines, one CIA agent and two Naval Aviators, we're sure as hell going to make an interesting team." Harm said as they piled into Jim's jeep.

"I hope you two know what you're doing." Webb said with and evident tone of worry.

"We're going to save Mac, it's just that simple." Harm looked at Webb before throwing the car into drive and peeling out of the JAG parking lot.


	15. Road to Damascus

A/N: The following contains the tiniest bit of graphic violence; use your discretion

The car pulled into the Dulles airport, Webb had reserved six first class tickets from Dulles to Damascus and their flight was due to leave in a little more than an hour and a half. The three men sprinted into the Dulles terminal and began looking around for the other members of their company. The first person who came into view was Keeter; Harm's call had likely caught him when he was on the road leaving Andrew's and he just turned and head for Dulles.

"Hey buddy, what's up?" Keeter looked concernedly at Harm.

"Mac…kidnapped…hostage…Syrians." Was all Harm could get out between panting for air.

"A few days ago, Mac was helping negotiate the legality of a crude dispute between Russia and Iran, where American interests were concerned. She was kidnapped by Hezbollah terrorists who have given us ten days to pay up or they'll kill her. Webb here is going to go talk with Airport security and make sure we can get our weapons through customs." Jim Grant filled Keeter in as Harm caught his breath. Webb ran off to talk to airport security and get the tickets.

"Jim, this is Lieutenant Commander Jack Keeter; Jack, this is Colonel Jim Grant." Harm made the introductions as the two men shook hands. "The government's not going to negotiate her rescue so…"  
"So you two decided to go off half-cocked and rescue her." Keeter finished Harm's thought.

"Yeah, well, we've got two more about to join us, that'll make our little band three Recon Marines, two Naval Aviators and one CIA agent, if we can't save her then no SEAL or Ranger team can." Jim added as Webb came running back over to them.

"Put your weapons in my bag. It's the only one I could get cleared." Webb said as he opened the zipper to an old gym bag. Jim pulled out his service Beretta and dropped it into the bag, Harm and Jack followed suit and Webb dropped his pistol into the bag. As Webb zipped up the bag two men came running up alongside them.

"We got here as fast as we could Jim, what's up?" The voice was that of Captain Bill Koonan.

"I believe the two of you know Harmon Rabb, he'll bring you up to speed." Jim said as he talked aside to Keeter and Webb.

"Rabb? Jesus boy, it's been a while." Stryker extended his hand and shook Harm's.

"It certainly has, Colonel." Harm said as he retracted his hand.

"Dispense with the ranks, in the next few days, we're going to have to depend on each other and we can't have formality superseding necessity." Stryker added.

"A Marine Major colleague of mine was abducted by Syrian Hezbollah terrorists a few days ago; we have ten days to rescue her before they kill her. The government won't negotiate her release so we're basically going out there to rescue her." The two men nodded their heads as Harm finished the back-story.

"She's Matt O'Hara's niece." Jim added as he, Webb and Keeter walked back over to them. A wash of understanding came over Koonan and Stryker as the six of them gathered around Webb's gym bag. "If you're in, throw your guns in here, it's the only one airport security has been ordered to overlook, if you want to back out, now's your chance."

Stryker and Koonan threw their guns into the bag and shook hands with their team-mates. "When one of our own is in trouble, you better bet that we're going to be there to save them." Stryker put his hand in the middle.

"We can't forget the 'Corps' in 'God, Country, Corps'." Koonan put his hand on Stryker's.

"Loyal to the end, whenever it may come." Jim thrust his hand in.

"May God have mercy on my enemies, because I won't." Harm put his hand in.

"God, grant me the courage not to give up on what's right, even though I think it's hopeless." Webb added his hand to pile in the centre. The Navy men and Marines smiled at the Nimitz quote.

"I don't have a quote, I just want to save a Marine." Keeter stated sombrely as he thrust in hand in with the rest. With one loud 'Oohrah!' they parted and sprinted for the gate where there plane was boarding. The five sea-bags cleared security without obstruction and Webb's bag bypassed security as the six men made their way to their seats on board United flight 117 to Damascus. Jim sat next to Webb, Koonan next to Keeter and Harm sat next to Stryker.

"You don't live a boring life kid, that's for sure." Stryker said as he stared out the window.

"Why did you and Captain Koonan seem to suddenly understand what we were asking when Jim mentioned that Mac was Matt O'Hara's niece?" It was something that had bugged Harm since it happened.

"You've got to understand Rabb, Recon Marines live in a very small world, we've all worked with one another at some point in time. Men like Matt, Bill, Jim and I are fiercely loyal to each other because of that fact. Make no mistake, these men are trained to kill, when we find her, if she's heavily guarded, what you knew about any of us goes right out the window." Stryker's tone was foreboding.

"Just like the jungle, way back when?" Harm questioned, his experience in the search for his father all those years ago was enough of a prologue for this adventure.

"Precisely, you discover things about yourself that you wouldn't have thought were possible. I'll bet you never thought that you could kill in cold blood before you went into the jungle that summer." Stryker's tone was almost wise.

"No, no, I would never have guessed that was part of my make-up." Harm stared at his feet.

"It's amazing what the human body will do when it's pushed to extremes, what sacrifices we'll make for those we care about. You've only really been pushed to that extreme on rare occasions. Guys like me and Jim and Bill have made a career out of doing it. Out of swallowing our humanity and just getting the job done, it may sound savage but it's what we do, I just wanted you to know what you've gotten yourself into kid." Stryker got up from his seat and walked toward the bathroom.

Jim and Clay came walking up to Harm's seat. "Alright, here's the plane. I've got a contact in Damascus, a former member of the Foreign Legion, he runs a bar." Clay started when Jim cut him off.

"He runs a bar in a Muslim country?" Jim looked confused.

"It's not how he makes his money." Clay shot back.

"Of course not." Jim looked cynical.

"Anyway, he can set us up with anything. Everyone goes to his place, so if anyone's going to know where Mac is, it will be him. I've got a standing order with him for Uzis and Desert Eagles, they're Israeli manufactured which makes them incredibly easy to come by in that part of the world. We're going to need an escape plan but I've got a thought there as well. Can Keeter fly a Huey?" Webb looked at Harm with anticipation.

"Yes, he can." Keeter replied from his seat.

"I might be able to procure one, it would sure as hell make our escape easier, that is, if we find out that they're not keeping her inside Damascus." Clay stood up and headed back to his seat.

"This promises to be one hell of a rescue op; you got the heart of a Marine in you, man." Jim said as he threw himself down into Stryker's seat.

"That's treason to say to a Navy man." Harm smiled, the first time since he'd found out about Mac.

"No it isn't Matt O'Hara was right when he said you had a Recon heart under all that Navy blue. When I told him that I was coming to work at JAG, he told me that I was going to meet Sarah's sailor and I got to admit, I kind of laughed at the prospect." Jim smiled as he gave Harm a friendly slug in the shoulder. "We're going to save her, you know that?"

"Yeah, I know. Thanks for standing up to the SECNAV back in the office." Harm gave his friend a pat on the shoulder.

"I couldn't have both of us resigning to go save her. Besides, I know people like Alex Nelson, they act tough but when faced with real toughness, they spook easily." Jim said with a comical undertone to his voice. "It's not often I find friends that I'd take a bullet for, or help lead a band of six rag-tag government servants into a foreign country to rescue a Marine being held captive my terrorists, but damn it Harm, you're one of those friends."

"Colonel, I believe you're in my seat." Stryker stood in the aisle looking at him.

"I believe you're right, Frank, I'll go back and check on our friendly neighbourhood spook." Jim got up and went back to his seat next to Webb.

_"Ladies and Gentlemen we are beginning our descent into Damascus International Airport, we ask that you fasten your seatbelts at this time and enjoy your time in Syria._" The pleasant voice and sentiment expressed by the stewardess caused a snicker from the six travel companions; this trip promised to be a lot of things, enjoyable was not one of them.

When the plane landed and the six of them grabbed their bags and headed through their arrival gate and into the main terminal. "Alright Webb, I think we should probably set up in a hotel or something, we're going to need some kind of Base of Operations for this op if we want it to be successful." Harm said, striding alongside the CIA agent.

"Already covered, there's a hotel not too far from here, we've got three rooms, two of which are adjoining. Tonight, we're going to meet my contact at his establishment, only three of us should go and we can't look like Wyatt Earp and his gang going to the OK Corral. We have to look sophisticated or we'll stand out." Webb was really trying to make up for putting Mac in this situation.

"Alright, well I know Harm and I have our Oxford shirts, ties and slacks from our uniforms, we should be fine for tonight." Jim started but Harm cut him off.

"Yeah, because the shoulder-board insignia on my uniform shirt won't draw attention. Webb, I'm going to need a jacket." Harm looked over at the secret agent.

"We'll pick one up when we walk through the marketplace near the hotel." Clay looked over his shoulder. "The hotel isn't too far from here, so, I think it would be wise to walk it, blend into the crowd." The six of them stepped out of the air conditioned airport into the sunny desert oasis of Damascus.

"Man, am I glad I threw on this t-shirt while we were on the plane." Jim shielded his eyes as they walked out into the heat. "I'm also remarkably glad I keep a pair of sunglasses in my desk drawer at work." He flipped on the sunglasses as they started walking through the streets. It was about eight blocks from the airport to the marketplace outside of their hotel. They tried not to look conspicuous but considering none of them spoke Arabic or Farsi, their limitations made them stand out like a sore thumb.

"Bill; you, Jack and Frank check into the hotel, the reservations are under Rubble, Flintstone and Jetson; we'll meet you in the lobby in about a half hour." Webb told them as the group split up. Harm, Jim and Webb headed for a tailor to pick up a few sport coats, nothing too fancy just a simple and cheap beige jacket that would get them through the night and could conceal a weapon on an inside pocket.

"How much money do we have for this little op, Webb?" Harm said as he threw the jacket over his shoulder.

"I was able to get about a $100,000 budget, it's not much for what we're looking at, but it should be enough to get us the weapons, ammo and transportation that we're going to need. You guys sure you can pull this off?" Clay had been of great help so far but his doubts were starting to manifest.

"I've never been more sure of anything in my life." Harm said as they moved back out into the market to find their comrade bartering with a local vendor. Jim tossed the man twenty American dollars which the man took willingly and handed Jim what he requested.

"It's a fifteenth century Ottoman short-sword. The blade is only about twelve inches long but it's sharp, light and curved so that it deals the most amount of damage with the least amount of effort. Never go into combat without a blade." Jim fixed the sheathe to his belt, than picking up a fruit from a nearby stand, he tossed it up into the air. In one swift motion he drew the sword from its place a brought the blade through the soaring fruit, carving its normally hard shell in one clean cut. The display was awe-inspiring and brought applause from the gathering crowd.

"The crusaders used to say that the desert took the man and left the beast." Webb said under his breath to Harm.

"It's taken more than the desert to do that to him." Harm said with a hint of worry in his voice. Stryker had been right, twenty years of being a professional killer did odd things to a man's soul. The action - while impressive - was savage in its magnificence, as was the sterility of Jim's expression as he manipulated the blade and brought it masterfully through the offending vegetation. It was a worrying act if only for the air which it presented.

Sheathing the weapon again, Jim walked over to his friends. "It is perhaps better that we should head back to the hotel." Jim walked past his friends as they made a rather silent walk back to the hotel.

In the lobby, Keeter, Stryker and Koonan were awaiting their comrades to rejoin them. Harm, Jim and Webb came through the front doors carrying their things and headed over to their friends. "How are the rooms looking?" Harm said as the group reformed.

"Good, we swept it, there's not a single piece of surveillance equipment to be found. Everything's laid out. Me and Bill will be bunking together, Keeter will bunk with Webb and that just leaves the two lawyers." Stryker said he took one of the bags and they headed toward the elevator.

"Alright, we're going to need a plan of action; which is what we're going to go through tomorrow after we get the Intel, tonight. I know we'd all like to get through this as quickly as possible but I'd like to go back to the States with all my team members and our freed hostage in tact." Harm said as he looked around the elevator.

"Agreed, we're going to have to operate at night, it's the only time we'll be able to manipulate the desert to our advantage. I know that Jim and I have some experience in the desert from our days in Beirut." Koonan said as the elevator stopped at their floor. Keeter opened the door to his room and everyone stepped inside.

"Rabb conducted an operation like this for NSA a few years back where he and his partner freed and American Marine from an Iraqi prison and were chased across the desert by Saddam." Webb added to reach a consensus.

"The jungle was my specialty but I haven't forgotten how to raid a building." Stryker supplied as he tossed the bag down on to the bed.

"That just leaves Webb and Keeter and if we need Keeter to fly a Huey than it's only Webb we have to worry about." Jim looked suspiciously over at the agent.

"Hey, I told you I was in this and I meant it! Now, it's my fault Mac's here and I'm just as willing as the rest of you to risk life and limb to get her out." Webb fired back sick of the Marine questioning.

"Attaboy Clay, I just wanted to make sure you were with us." Jim gave him a pat on the shoulder. "We've got to get ready to meet our contact in an hour when the sun goes down."

"Rabb, you know the lines you're supposed to say when you're approached?" Clay was double checking as his bag was opened and their weapons feel on to the bed

"Know it? They may list among the most important words I've said in my life to this point, of course I know them." Harm shot back as he picked up his Beretta and slid it into the inside pocket of the sport coat.

"Good because if you screw up, we're going to have to shoot our way out that place." Webb's concern still playing upon his tone.

"Worried, Clay?" Jim said as he slid his Beretta into his shoulder holster.

"Prepared." Clay loaded a magazine into his gun.

2100 LOCAL TIME  
BLUE OASIS CLUB

DAMASCUS, SYRIA

The three men walked into the club and fanned out, careful to keep their eyes on each other. Harm walked up and leaned on the bar. "Double Bourbon." Harm called to the bartender as a man in a ball cap walked up to his side. The bartender poured Harm's drink and handed it to him.

"What in heaven's name brought you to Damascus?" The voice came from the man in the ball cap.

"My health. I came to Damascus for the waters." Harm said slowly turning away from the bar and toward the man who stood next to him.

"The waters? What waters? We're in the desert." The man quipped back with a smile tugging at his face.

"I was misinformed." Harm's two friends closed in next to him as the exchange ended.

"Mr. Rabb and Mr. Webb I presume?" The man said with an air of arrogance.

"That's right, take us to Mr. Phillips." Webb shot back and the man motioned for them to follow him into the back room. The three stalked languidly through the club to a heavy oak door. The door creaked open to reveal a man in his late fifties puffing on a cigarette in an office that was nothing but hunter green and mahogany.

"Clayton, how nice of you to drop in on me. I must say that after you contacted me I was a little surprised especially since your last trip to Damascus ended so poorly. I suppose you're here about the Marine. I've seen her, a regular desert flower, pity what they plan on doing to her though." The thick British accent more than added to the tense atmosphere.

"Harmon Rabb, Jim Grant this is Simon Phillips." Clay made the introduction.

"No need to introduce us Clayton, I'm more than familiar with my guests. Lieutenant Commander Harmon Rabb Junior, Navy poster boy. Tours of duty over Kuwait and Iraq during Desert Storm and an aviator until a ramp strike ended that little pipe dream, since then you've managed to win two Distinguished Flying Crosses. Colonel Jim Grant, two Silver Stars, three Bronze Stars, two Purple Hearts and a Navy Cross. You've made some powerful enemies over the years, Colonel, but that comes with being a government mercenary." Phillips got up from behind his desk. His arrogance was more than wearing the patience of the two officers but it was lucky that Webb was doing all the talking.

"Simon, we just want my standing order for weapons and any Intel on the whereabouts of that Marine." Webb stepped forward, it was the first time that he'd tried to be intimidating.

"What's in it for me?" The Brit had one eyebrow perked.

"$75,000" Clay shot back.

"Deal, although I shouldn't, the terrorists are asking so much more. Still, I like doing business with you, Clayton." Phillips pulled a bag out from under his desk and threw it on the desk. "I counted six in your company when you got off the plane. In this bag there are six Desert Eagles and knowing the Colonel's legendary preference for duals, he and the Commander will have two Uzis while the rest of your company will have to make due with one. Of course, there's all the ammunition you could need and behind the club, there will be an armoured vehicle ready for your appropriation." Phillips sat back in his chair.

"As for the information. The lovely Miss MacKenzie is rather heavily guarded, I'd say at least a hundred men. There's a compound on the southern edge of town. It's built on top of old ruins, something you will surely notice when you enter the building. Miss MacKenzie is being kept in the cellar. There's a trap door behind the ruins of an old altar, in the northeast corner of the building. I would suggest that, unless you plan on killing everyone inside, you execute your rescue rather quickly. As a bonus I have blueprints of the site, they're included in the bag." Phillips pulled out another cigarette and casually lit it. Harm stepped forward and grabbed the bag. The three men turned and left the office.

They walked through the club and back to the hotel, eyes peeled for anything that might raise suspicion. The night seemed to fall like a heavy blanket around them as they walked calmly through the streets carrying more fire power then some platoons. The three Americans entered the hotel and made a bee-line for the elevator.

"Are your nerves supposed to feel like this?" Webb said as the elevator climbed toward the seventh floor.

"Yes, there's a quick impulse of heightened awareness before they die entirely." Jim said as he looked at the door.

"Die entirely?" Clay looked over at him.

"When we go into that compound, that's what's got to happen because it's the only thing that'll keep you alive. Your nerves have to shut off. You've got to run on adrenaline or you'll end up in a body bag. There is no thinking, just follow the plan and shut off your nerves. Don't think about who or what you shoot, just shoot and shoot to kill." Jim looked at Webb, the steel in his eyes reflected by the elevators lights.

The doors opened and the three of them opened the door to Keeter's room where the other half of the team was sitting playing cards.

"We've got it!" Harm said as they walked through the door. Clay threw the bag on the bed. The first thing he pulled out were the blueprints and he laid them across the bed. Then individually, he took out the guns and the ammo clips and even a few smoke grenades. "We're going to have to plan this all out tomorrow and we'll execute it tomorrow night. Keeter, you're going to be our driver, make sure you've got a fast route worked out between the American embassy and the compound." Keeter nodded as he took Harm's warning.

With that, they broke for the night; Harm and Jim heading to their room and Koonan and Stryker heading for their room. Their were two beds in each room but neither Harm nor Jim could sleep they just stared looking up at the ceiling. "Jim?"

"Yeah, Harm." Jim said his fatigue creeping into his tone.

"What made you the way you are?" It was Harm's turn to sound concerned.

"Years of trying to separate the personal and the professional. If I tell myself this is just a job I'll be on the top of my game when we go in there tomorrow night. If I tell myself that Mac is no different than the countless others I've rescued than it means she'll make it back to the States just like they did. I'm worried that if I snap out of Marine-mode and back into Jim-mode, I'll screw up and I don't want to let that happen." Jim said, his arms behind his head as he looked up at the ceiling.

"Must take a lot of combat to make you want to do that." Harm said as sleep approached his eyes.

"It's not the combat, it's the aftermath that haunts you." Jim rolled on his pillow and dragged his eyelids shut.

The next morning dawned on Damascus, with a red sun rising over the dunes in the distant east. Harm was up at the first light ready to get started for the day, ready to get Mac back where she belonged, at JAG, with him. He looked out the big window in the room and saw the bustling city waking gently beneath him. His partner stirred in his sleep as he slowly awoke from his slumber. "What time is it?" Jim rubbed the sleep from his eyes.

"About 0550." Harm looked back into the room.

"Mac could tell us down to the second." Jim quipped with a smile.

"Yeah, she could and she will later today." Harm smiled as well.

"Let's prepare to meet the day." Jim got himself up out of bed and threw on a pair of shorts. Before heading into the next room to wake up Keeter and Webb. By 0630 the team was all together, enjoying room service and pouring through the blueprints on the bed.

"What we know, is that this compound was built on an old ruin sight, so we're unlikely to encounter any gates or fences but we may have to contend with sentries on the roof. Night-time and camouflage may help us evade some detection but we're going to have to be fast." Stryker started.

"We're going to have to avoid the main roads and kill our headlights. I'd also like to keep the vehicle out of plain view. Keeter, you can't come in with us but you have to get yourself in position to see us the second we come running out of the building." Harm added as he poked at his porridge.

"We're going to have to do this in waves. Bill, Frank and I will take the front door, the second you hear a knock come at the side door Harm take that as your cue to break in and join in the fight." Jim added pointing to the side door on the map.

"This is an all or nothing operation. We're not looking for information, we're rescuing a hostage so do not shoot to take prisoners. Remember, these men are terrorists, they wouldn't think twice about taking your life, don't think twice about taking theirs." Koonan looked up from the map.

"I'd just like to thank you all for coming this far and for helping Jim and myself rescue Major MacKenzie. You're willingly risking more than we have right to ask of you." Harm looked up from his food and was rewarded by a pat on the back from Koonan and Keeter.

"Harm, you'd do the same for us." Keeter said as he pushed his try aside.

"We few, we happy few, we Band of Brothers…" Jim started and looked at the voice that intercepted him.

"For he today who sheds his blood with me shall be my brother." Webb finished and looked around at the smiling faces of the men around him.

"Who said that? Robert E Lee?" Keeter looked up from the blueprints.

"William Shakespeare." Harm supplied the answer.

"Man knew what he was talking about." Stryker added as the six men parted to get themselves ready for that night. They got dressed in Desert cammies, without the caps and the rank insignia. They had their utility belts; they knew that they were going to be carrying as many clips as humanly possible for this mission. The day was passed by the six men sitting in the main room going through each moment, step-by-step so that nothing was missed.

Keeter called a time aloud and one of them responded with what part of the operation would be executed at that point. They spent for hours making sure that between the five of them they knew exactly what was going to be done, every movement down to the last flex or gunshot.

At around five o'clock they broke for a meal. A quick supper to keep their energy up, tonight was it. They still, technically, had eight days before the offer ran out but Harm nor anyone else was willing to risk Mac being in Hezbollah custody any longer than that night. Jim and Harm sat on their beds looking out into the dying sunlight. "It feels almost vampire-like, to stalk and kill in the night." Jim's voice sounded deflated and cold.

"You were right in telling Bud not to come. I wouldn't want to put him through this, what I'm feeling right now." Harm's hands were tented in front of his mouth.

"I'm surprised the Admiral didn't demand to come with us. We sure could've used a SEAL." Jim said as he lay back on the bed.

"Someone had to run the shop. He would've come if he thought it was best." Harm said as he started to pace the floor.

"Sit, there's someone we have to ask for help." Jim said instructing Harm. "I always say the Lord's Prayer before I go out on a mission."

"You ask for God's help to kill people?" Harm asked incredulously.

"No, I ask him to forgive me for what I'm about to do and to help me do the right thing." Jim said with a great reverence, his eyes looking toward the sky. The two men sat on the bed and even though it had been years for Harm, they said the Lord 's Prayer and asked God to help them and forgive them.

Harm looked out the window for yet a third time that day and just he had at dawn and high noon, he watched how the movement of the sun dictated the movements of the city. Dusk, the cloak of darkness coated the city in a crimson light as the sun faded behind the hotel. The red light, it conjured up imagery too potent to ignore. "Surely, this place is hell." Harm said loud enough to hear.

"I remember the first time I uttered those words. Egypt, 1977." Jim said looking up at his friend who was still looking out the window. "We'll get it done Harm, and soon this will be only a nightmare, locked away in some far recess of your mind."

"Do you think you'll have to use that?" Harm looked down at the Ottoman short sword that hung loosely at his friend's side.

"If it comes to that." Jim replied as he left Harm alone with his thoughts and went to sit with Keeter and Webb in the other room. After a few minutes of quiet introspection, Harm walked into the room where the rest of the team was now gathered.

"Alright folks, it's zero-hour, do we have every thing?" Harm asked as he saw a round of nodding pass through the room. "Let's move." Harm grabbed the old gym back now full to the brim with loaded firearms. Each man carried a full compliment of ammunition in his belt as they made their way through the hotel to the street where their armoured vehicle had been delivered by Phillips earlier that evening.

Harm walked up to the front and put the heel of his boot through the headlights. The team piled in and Keeter took the driver seat as they slowly made their way through the Damascus streets. In the back seats, guns were being distributed as the clicking of magazines and safeties indicated. Each man had his service Beretta, a Desert Eagle and an Uzi. The only exceptions were Jim and Harm who were entrusted with two of the sub-machine guns.

As they neared the edge of the city, the buildings became smaller and more sparse. The second he could, Keeter pulled off the main road and started to climb the dunes in the armoured SUV. Koonan had a pair of binoculars out spotting the location trying to find out their exact distance from their target.

"Alright, park just before this next dune. The compound is on the other side." Koonan pulled himself back inside the vehicle. After a few more second of driving, Keeter stopped the SUV and put it into park.

"End of the line." Keeter said as they all piled out of the vehicle. Harm and Webb took off in one direction for their side of the building and the three Recon Marines took off for their entrance. The desert was a barren cold wasteland at night. Your breath looked like steam as it poured out of your mouth and you looked like a raging bull if it came out of your nostrils. Within minutes Koonan, Stryker and Jim had made their way to the main entrance to the building, Koonan looked down at his watch and counted down the second until the exact time of initiation.

Koonan gave the signal and Jim drew his guns and kicked the door open which was followed by Stryker tossing in the smoke grenade. The three Marines filed into the compound through the entrance and fanned out. Soon the atmosphere was steeped into two sounds; that of gunfire and that of shells hitting the cement floor. When Phillips had told them that there were upwards of one-hundred men in this compound, he hadn't been lying. From the second that the door had burst open, adversaries came at them like locusts, each falling to the rhythmic sound of an Uzi sending off bullets.

As the gunplay in the main area died down, Stryker went over to the auxiliary entrance and pounded on the door giving Harm and Webb their signal to enter. The two men came charging through the door and looked around to see bodies littering the floor at the far end of the main area. The innards of this building resembled something of a warehouse, they knew they were going to have to fan off through a few corners to find Mac.

"What the hell happened here?" Harm saw the blood delicately painting the floor around the corpses.

"Terrorists bent on running into bullets, looks like thirty in total." Jim said as he took a quick count.

"Anyone here hurt?" Harm looked around studying the Marines who had cleaned up the now secure area.

"No, we're all still in one piece." Stryker motioned for them to continue on with their plan. The Marines switched over to their handguns as they were forced to navigate the narrow hallways that lead to the back. They cleared every corner with precision, eliminating thirteen guards in the dark, narrow stone-walled labyrinth that lead to the hangar at the back of the compound.

"Forty-three down, fifty-seven to go." Koonan uttered as they made their way to the split hallway. This time it was Webb's turn to hunker in with the retired Marines as Harm and Jim took the bee-line to rescue Mac.

"The trap-door is six and a half feet to your right once you open that door just remember that." Webb murmured audibly just before they broke down the last obstacles between them and the final unsecured area of the compound. They heard the sound of approaching footsteps and took it as their queue to break down the last barrier. Harm's foot crashed through the one door and Koonan's foot crashed through the other as they heard the familiar rhythm of gunfire start around them.

"You two go get her, we'll cover your six!" Stryker shouted as their own guns started up. Jim and Harm walked over to the trap door in the floor and the thunder of Harm's boot once again made itself known as it broke through the flimsy wooden trap door. Harm landed on the cement stairs beneath the door. Jim following fast behind him. Harm had his Beretta drawn, these were close quarters, the Uzi was too big and clumsy, the Beretta was accurate. The two men came to the bottom of the stairs silently and walked through the darkened room. As they moved toward the room where Mac was being kept, a light flicked on and Harm felt the cold steel of the barrel of a gun being pressed to the side of his head.

Noticing his partner's predicament, Jim's body went into overdrive. Grabbing the sword he'd purchased in the marketplace, in one swift moment the blade was drawn up and severed the offending arm below the shoulder causing it to fall to the ground, gun still in hand. Than with a great cry of anguish and a second movement of the blade, it was brought around in a fierce decapitation of the man who had threatened Harm's life.

Harm looked worried at his friend who was trying desperately to catch his breath. He looked in a trance, as if blood-lust had taken over his body. "You okay buddy?" Harm inquired with a worried eye. He saw the Marine shake his head in an attempt to come too.

"Every once in a while that happens and I frighten myself with what I'm capable of." Jim wiped the blade and sheathed it again. Harm barged through the last door and saw her lying on the floor with a mighty gash across the side of her head.

"Mac! Come on Mac, please still be with us!" Harm rushed over to her side and gathered her up in his arms. He clothes were tattered but remarkably they were still in tact. She was breathing but it was faint. "Please Sarah, remember that promise." He saw the tarnished pendant still dangling from her elegant neck.

Jim crouched next to his friend and watched as the tears came from his eyes. "Come on buddy, there's nothing we can do here, we have to get her to the embassy." Harm hoisted her over his shoulder and the two of them began the slow ascent through the bowels of this ninth circle of hell back to the hangar as morning's first light decorated the skies.

The two men ascended the stone stairs only to come up at the tail end of the fire-fight. The Marines had cleaned up, there were bodies every where, the blood red of the floor would never come clean.

"We still got the same amount of people we came in with?" Jim inquired as he saw Clay, Koonan and Stryker walked toward them.

"We're all here, a little worse for wear but here. How's she?" Stryker said indicating Mac who was still draped over Harm's shoulder.

"She's alive." A raspy voice came from behind Harm. In a sudden wave of euphoria, Harm lowered her to a standing position and held her hips so she didn't fall.

"You okay, sweet thing?" He smiled as he saw those big brown eyes of hers open.

"Better now." She smiled weakly.

"Anyone got a drink left in their canteen? I'm sure that the Major's plenty parched." Jim looked around and Clay tossed his canteen to Harm who grabbed it and handed it to Mac. She took a long drink and breathed a sigh of relief.

"Much better. Come on let's get out of here." Her lips were staring to return to their former lustre. The six of them weaved their way back through the compound to the main entrance where Keeter was their waiting for them. They all piled in the vehicle and Keeter sped off for the American Embassy. "So, Robin Hood did you and your Merry Men decide you just had to save Maid Marian or what's the deal with this crew?" Mac pointed to all the men in the car.

"Well you already know Little John…" Harm pointed to Jim. "Friar Tuck…" Harm pointed to Keeter. "And Will Scarlet." Harm pointed to a very sore Clayton Webb who waved at Mac. "As for the other to in the back with old Will, let me introduce Colonel Francis Stryker and Captain Bill Koonan." Both men waved at Mac.

"So, you decided to team up with a bunch of Marines to save me, did you?" She smiled as she curled under Harm's arm.

"And one Navy!" Keeter protested from the front seat.

"Don't forget me." Webb laughed from the back.

"Friends and Marines, we teamed up to make sure the USA got one of her finest back." Harm smiled and placed a kiss on top of her head. Keeter had found the fastest way to get to the Embassy alright, he might have nearly run down eighty or ninety people doing it but he got them there. The doors to the vehicle flung open and Jim Grant was the first to approach the Marine at the front gate. Flashing his Military ID, Jim's command to open the gate was immediately heeded and the team made their way into the embassy.

They were greeted in the entry hall by the Ambassador who seemed to be standing by, waiting for their arrival. "You must be Commander Rabb and Colonel Grant. Secretary Nelson told me to expect you, he also told me to have a helicopter ready on the helipad on the roof to get you out of Syria and to the USS Patrick Henry out in the Med."

"Thanks Mr. Ambassador, I guess we just follow the stairs?" Harm inquired, Mac was still in his arms, her legs were suffering some serious atrophy and as such she couldn't really walk.

"Follow the stairs to the helipad, your ride is waiting for you." The Ambassador called as the comrades clamoured up the stairs. Just as they reached the top the Ambassador called to them again. "Commander Rabb!" The party stopped and turned back toward their host. "That was a damn brave thing you did. Crazy, but damn brave."

The group reached the helipad and found a waiting COD ready to take them to the Henry. All seven of them piled onboard, Harm never allowing Mac to leave his arms. "We're going home, ninja-girl" Harm said as he tossed another smile at her.

"We certainly are, flyboy." She smiled right back.

1830 ZULU

JAG HEADQUARTERS  
FALLS CHURCH, VIRGINIA

The last three days in Falls Church had been agony. No work was getting done and everyone was hanging on word from Syria. When the call came in that day it was like the last pitch in the ninth inning of a World Series game.

"JAG Ops, Petty Officer Tiner speaking." Tiner said with trepidation. "Yes, sir, Mr. Ambassador, I'll transfer you through to the Admiral right away, sir." Tiner transferred the call and went into the bullpen alongside Bud, Harriet and the rest of the people at JAG.

Back in his office AJ Chegwidden gripped the phone hard and awaited good news. When the Ambassador told him that they were all okay and that they were on their way home a giant weight lifted off his heart and he breathed a great sigh of relief. He walked triumphantly out into the bullpen to address the waiting crowd. "They've got her! They're coming home!" Was all he said and with a smile he joined in the celebratory atmosphere in the bullpen. Harriet had flung herself into her fiancé's waiting arms.

"Oh Bud! Did you hear that? They did it, they're coming home!" Harrier sobbed and Bud cradled her head into his shoulder.

"I heard, honey, I heard." He said into her blonde hair as a flood of happy tears streamed down her face.

A/N: One of the best things about the latest batch of reviews has been people telling me what Movie/TV stars would play Jim, I've got the actor in mind but I love reading the other ideas; so if you've got one, send it along in a review!


	16. If Ye Break Faith

A/N: In the tradition of "Each of Us Angels" and "Ghosts of Christmas Past" I figured I'd make an attempt at a similar kind of episode throwing our characters into Korea 1950. If you want to know the origins of the roles they're taking, I suggest you to refer back to Ch. 4

Harmon Rabb Junior as First Lieutenant Michael O'Grady

Jim Grant as Major David O'Grady

Bud Roberts as Gunnery Sergeant Patrick Grant

AJ Chegwidden as Major Nicholas Blake M.D

Sarah MacKenzie as Nurse Annabelle Parker

Harriet Sims as Nurse Betty Hancock

"We got a bleeder here!" Captain Annabelle Parker was the chief nurse at the 4055th MASH and their latest guests were a bunch of Marines from the X Corps. Triage was one of the worst parts of the job, the idea of prioritizing who gets medical treatment that will save their life and who has to wait a little longer and possibly die in the mean time was not one it was easy for her to stomach.

Triage patients basically fell into two categories when it came to Marines; the unconscious and barely conscious were one category and by far the easiest to deal with. The other group of Marine triage patients were the fully conscious; there wounds often trivial and their gung-ho, Semper Fi attitude still in place and running at full capacity. This was the case one early November morning when a platoon of X Corps Marines came rumbling into the 4055th.

Most of the patients were laid out with some pretty serious injuries but there were three Marines who came into the 4055th still walking, or limping and still ready to take charge. "Alright, we've got one hell of a ruptured chest cavity here, someone get over here and take a look at this!" The one Marine was bent over a patient.

"Who do you think you are? You can't come in here diagnosing conditions and aiding in Triage care!" Some Marines were crazy but no Marine had ever tried to take control of triage.

"Listen, honey, I know you think I'm just some gung-ho jarhead but I was a doctor and a damn good one before I joined the Marines. I'm also a Major, _Captain_, which means that you should start showing some serious respect and get this patient into pre-op." The bull-headed Marine Major stood up and looked her square in the eye before moving past her.

"Listen Major! I'm the chief surgeon here and I don't take kindly to anyone pushing around my nursing staff." Major Nick Blake came storming out of pre-op to deal with the disturbance.

"With all due respect to your command, Major, you've got forty-seven Marines coming in, now I'm a doctor; Dartmouth '38 and my brother Mike has got as much medical training as any corpsman or nurse so you might as well let us help if you want to get through this deluge." The two men stood eye to eye, neither giving an inch.

"Fine, what's your name, doctor?" Nick Blake's often terse tone had softened.

"Dave, Dave O'Grady." The two men shook hands.

"Nick Blake. You stay out here and run triage until we can have someone pull that bullet out of your arm. Then you can help in O.R." The two men nodded and parted ways.

"So does the doc have a problem keeping his hands off of you Captain?" Mike O'Grady was across the compound trying to inspect one very torn up leg.

"Pardon me, Lieutenant?" Annabelle Parker had never sounded so offended in her life.

"No offence intended, Captain; you just look like a pin-up girl is all." Removing the first-aid dressing to get a better look caused Mike to utter a curse. "Dave, we got a torn up femoral artery here, what do I do?"

"Get him as close to the front of the line as humanly possible, if he has to wait too long he'll lose that leg!" Dave O'Grady shouted back.

"Where did you get your medical training?" Annabelle Parker's demanding tone took over.

"I don't have any formal medical training. My father was a small-town practitioner outside of Boston; I worked with him since I was twelve. My brother's a doctor and he let me use his medical journals to keep up to date before we joined the Marines in '42." Michael O'Grady had one of those smiles when he finished a sentence that made it impossible to carry on an argument.

"Alright, Lieutenant, you and I should probably work together since you're not technically a doctor." Annabelle tossed him a playful smile and gave him a pat on the back. "We should also get that bullet wound in your leg looked at."

"That's nothing; I've been hurt worse playing horseshoes back home." Mike tossed her another smile, one that told her that she was going to enjoy this Marine being a resident of her MASH. "I have to say, normally I don't take girls to do Triage on a first date but I can tell you're something special."

"I'm sure you say that to all the girls." Annabelle shot back trying to hide a smile.

"Hey Dave! I ever take a girl to do triage on a first date?" Mike called across the compound much to Annabelle's surprise. Dave looked up from his patient as he moved on to the next one.

"No, there was that time that you wrapped Pa's car around that tree at Miller's point and he promised to put you in traction though." Dave called back as he looked through another patient.

"See, I told you that you were something special." Mike smiled at her and they knelt down to their next patient. He inspected the wound beneath the bandage and cringed. "Dave we got a lace curtain effect working on this guy's sigmoid colon!"

"Prioritize Mike, you know this stuff, you don't have to call over here every time you see something. You know what to do." Dave called back. "When's Gunny Grant coming in with the next batch?"

"Supposedly around 0100. We've been getting hit hard driving them back. Good thing we've got Colonel Puller, best damn Marine in the Corps!" Mike shouted back. "It just occurred to me, this is our first date and I don't even know your name, sweetheart." Mike said aside to the nurse.

"Annabelle Parker." She extended her hand.

"Mike O'Grady." Mike shook her hand. "I think I'll call you Belle, means beauty after all, it's only fitting." He laughed a little under his breath as the Corpsman took away the last of the casualties.

"Alright Mike, we've got to get into pre-op too, these wounds aren't going to heal themselves." Dave came walking over.

"Alright Dave, I'll be there in a minute. Well, Belle baby, I guess you should probably head into the O.R. How about a drink at the O Club later?" Mike looked into her big brown eyes.

"Sounds like a plan, Marine." She smiled and he gave her a quick peck on the cheek.

"Go to work, doll." He smiled and then followed his brother into pre-op. Mike and Dave O'Grady were brothers closer than twins despite the seven year age gap. "Hey Dave, I got myself a date with that hot little Captain." Mike smiled as the two men took up cots in pre-op.

"Only you could get a date while shot." Dave shot back.

"It's just the kind of guy I am, Dave old boy." Mike gave a backhander to the ribs.

"Old? Who you callin' old?" Dave responded with a punch to his brother's arm.

"Boys!" Nurse Betty Hancock called from across the room.

"Sorry Nurse." The two men looked defeated.

"So what are we going to do when this one's over, Mike?" Dave looked over at his brother.

"Well first we're gonna get the hell out of the Marines, two wars is enough for me. We should probably take over Dad's practice which means I have to go to med school. If there's any justice I'll get married to someone like that pretty little nurse." Mike and Dave shared a laugh.

"Yeah you need someone with that kind of firebrand to keep you in line, boy." Dave chuckled under his breath. "Can you believe that the Gunny's brother and our sister?"

"Yeah what are the chances of that? There are a lot of miles between Tennessee and Boston." Mike said back. "We should probably get some sleep. I know we've been fighting it, but these bullets still hurt like hell."

"You bet. See you in a few hours, brother." Dave turned over on a cot and fell asleep while Mike did the same thing on the cot next to him. In a few hours Mike woke up in a different place than he had fallen asleep and saw the angelic face of Nurse Annabelle Parker.

"Now this is a sight I like to wake up to." Mike sat up in his bed.

"Easy there, jarhead, I figured I should come wake you up for our date." She sat on the edge of his bed.

"Where am I, Belle? And where's Dave?" He looked around frantically.

"When you were asleep we shot a local in you and removed the bullet from your leg. You're in post-op. Your brother's in O.R helping Major Blake work through the remainder of the casualties. My shift is over so I figured I'd pick you up for our date." She smiled and placed a caring hand on his cheek.

"Alright, Belle, let's go." Mike practically jumped out of bed.

"You're going to have to go easy on that leg, Marine, it won't do you any good to strain anything, that bullet tore up some muscles pretty bad." Belle looked up into his eyes with concern.

"Nonsense, I'm taking the prettiest gal in all Korea dancing at the O Club." He roped an arm around her waist and they walked over toward the Officer's Club. He had a slight limp, likely a way of compensating with the pain. The two of them walked into the Officer's Club to find the place largely empty. Most of the officer's at a MASH were doctors and nurses and they were likely working or sleeping right now. At 2100, most of the wounded officers that were brought into the hospital were likely resting up in post-op.

"So tell me who Miss Annabelle Parker is?" Mike sat next to her at their table.

"She's a polite Southern girl from Savannah, Georgia who is at this moment a Captain in the US Army serving in Korea." Annabelle informed him but he didn't look impressed.

"No I mean what are your dreams, what's beyond this war for you? There's got to be something that you want to do with your life." Mike's eyes grew big and his smile wide as he questioned her.

"I want to be a mom. I think that's the most important job in the world, just to be a good mother and raise the next generation to be good caring people." She looked him in the eye and saw his teeth show in a wide smile.

"See now that tells me more about who Belle is than where she was born or her rank or her job. It tells me who's in there." He pointed his index finger to her heart.

"Why, Mister O'Grady, I do believe you're sweet on me." She said her words playing upon her southern drawl.

"I think you're right, Miss Parker." He reached for the hand she had placed upon the table and slowly ran his fingers over her skin. They sat there in silence for a stretch of seconds that felt like an eternity just companionably trying sort out why the person they were sitting with had such an effect on them. The notes of Nat King Cole's _Mona Lisa_ came over the jukebox as Mike gently tugged on Belle's arm to guide her out to the empty floor of the O Club.

He wrapped an arm around her waist and laid one hand in hers as she placed her other hand on his shoulder. The two of them moved around the floor slowly and in rhythm to the music slowly taking in the atmosphere around them. As the song progressed Belle eased slowly into his arms and she laid her head on his shoulder as both her arms went up around his neck and both of his slid around her waist. She could've sworn that he was supporting her, that to stand on her own would've been impossible, that her knees would have surely given way.

He clung to her for dear life. There had been a lot that he'd left behind in that small town in Massachusetts and a lot had happened since then. Inchon had made him see life for what it was, able to end at any second. It was that experience, nearly dying and fighting on that made him the man he was. The man that wanted to look beyond all the death and the suffering that the war brought with it. And here she was, Belle, more than a woman, a lighthouse for man drifting through life's seas. It was natural for him to reach out to her.

"God you're beautiful, you know that." He whispered into her ear.

"I don't think I should be here, Mr. O'Grady, you're fast making me lose control." She whispered right back.

"I know, it's a wonderful feeling isn't it?" He smiled and she nodded as her head moved into the curve of his neck. She gently lifted her face and looked into his eyes. She saw more than the tough Marine playboy that had sauntered into camp earlier in the day, this was a man whose very presence electrified her. They leaned into each other, as two lost souls searching for some solace in a world engulfed by chaos.

Almost torturously the distance closed, hesitance weighing the better part of caution. When the door the O Club flung open and the face of Gunny Grant came in. "Lieutenant, sir, Major O'Grady said to come and get you. We've got twenty-three coming in by ambulance, chopper and bus. He said we'd need you for triage sir." Gunny was panting, his arms was stained blood red.

"Good God Gunny, what the heck happened to you?" Mike went rushing over to where his friend was wincing in pain.

"Mortar fragments, tore my arm sir. Got to be at least nine I can feel." Gunny Grant doubled over in pain on to the floor of the O Club. Belle and Mike ran over to him and carried him out to the main triage area.

"Looks like we're going to have to work together through the night, sweetheart." Mike shot her a smile as he tore off a part of his shirt to make tourniquets for Gunny Grant's wounds. "Not how I envisioned my first date with my dream woman ending." He said as he wrapped the tourniquet.

"How about we end it the way we were about to before we were interrupted?" She leaned in quickly and kissed him. Their lips interlocked in a passionate duel as her fingers raked through his hair. Willingly her lips parted as their tongues exchanged greetings. They were interrupted once again by a stern but familiar voice.

"Come on, you two, this is a war-zone not the back seat of dad's Ford." Dave shouted at them from across the triage area. "We've got a kid with some mortar fragments infringing on renal tissue here, lucky it's one and not both. He can wait."

In triage, diagnosis time and decisions mean that lives hang in the balance. What could take up to twenty minutes back in the States needed to be done in less than sixty seconds at a MASH and it needed to be done thoroughly. Major Blake, Dave, Mike and Belle worked triage like clockwork as the surgical shifts set up to work through the night. They processed twenty-three new arrivals in a matter of minutes as they came in from the North.

"We're done here, I'm going to go help you in pre-op." Mike ran alongside here toward the only permanent structure in the compound.

"You have to go back to post-op and rest we just pulled that bullet out of your leg this afternoon. Don't make me make it an order, Lieutenant!" She protested, the caring evident in her big brown eyes.

"If I go back to bed I won't see you for hours, if I go to pre-op I can work side-by-side with you for hours, I'll deal with the insubordination if it means being next to you." He smiled and she melted.

"Fine, jarhead, but don't get any ideas." She smiled as they rushed toward pre-op. The preparation before operation ward was the worst for anyone who didn't have to be in O.R. In pre-op you had all the lingering feelings of the OR without any of the relief of knowing that the kids in question were closer to being saved. Mike and Belle spent five hours in the pre-op tackling every problem that came their way until they were down to the last patient that had to be shuffled off into OR.

"I think you should go to bed." Belle stated as they lumbered out of the pre-op and into the compound at 0300.

"I think you're right." Mike said as he pulled her in for a hug. "Will I see you tomorrow, Belle?"

"Just try and prevent me from being there when you wake up jarhead." She kissed him on the cheek but couldn't help drawing her lips to his again. His arms wrapped around her and pulled her in as the kiss deepened. "Why do I find myself falling in love with you?"

"It's the uniform." He responded with a smile.

"It's the man." She replied with a serious tone as she grabbed him by collar and pulled him in for another kiss. "I have my own tent, do you think you could just, just hold me, it gets so cold here at night." She looked hopefully up into his eyes.

"Sure." He slid his arms across her shoulders and they walked over to her tent. In her tent the two of them curled up together on her cot. His big arms held her close and kept her warm threw the night. Being this far from home sleep had always presented something of an obstacle for her. It was in the night when loneliness and solitude reached their greatest intensity. But that night, with him she felt whole, secure and for once being in Korea, away from everyone she loved wasn't so daunting.

Her eyelids slowly closed and she drifted off to sleep. During the night she turned slowly into him. Her faces burrowed its way into his chest almost as if she was asking him to protect her while she slept. The night passed outside her tent and gently, the desolation that was the Korean War seemed to evaporate and the nightmares that plagued her mind; nightmares of OR and post op, those nightmares they all faded and her mind shifted out of the darkness. She was back home, in Georgia, a white picket fence around a house on the corner that she knew from her childhood. She was there with him, still amazed by the effect he had on her after all these years.

Morning's first light touched the hills of Korea early that morning but with the deluge over, Major Blake had everyone on twenty-four hour stand down. The two of them awoke later that morning. Him waking up first and gently brushing the hair out of her face. She was so peaceful, so serene almost angelic when she slept. He placed a light kiss on her forehead. Her eyelids fluttered open in that instant and caught the sincerity and caring of his action.

"Morning, jarhead." She whispered at the man who lay next to her on the pillow.

"Morning, Belle." He replied with a smile. "How is it you manage to look beautiful even when you've just woken up?"

"Years of practice." She smiled and gave him a light kiss on the lips. She started to pout slightly into his chest.

"What's wrong?" His voice dripping with concern as his hand lightly caressed her back.

"It's just, you'll be sent back to the line soon and all this, it'll end. Damn this war!" Tears were flowing from her eyes as he placed a hand under her chin. "I don't want this to end, it's too good. I've never felt like this before and this war and X Corps, it all seems determined to end all of that."

"It's okay, I'll come back, if for nothing else, for you. You know that feeling you've got? Well I've got it too. You're an amazing woman, Belle. How you live with all this blood and all this destruction and it doesn't kill that delicate southern flower inside of you is nothing short of a miracle." He brought her hands up to his lips and placed a light kiss on her fingers.

"What do we do? After you leave how will we…" She sniffled slightly as tears welled up in her eyes. "How will we meet up again?"

"We will. The first Independence Day or Christmas Eve after the war ends which ever one's closer. We'll meet at 2300, an hour before midnight at the Lincoln Memorial. All I know is that I want this with you, Belle. Now when I close my eyes I see you in it. I see kids playing on the swing that I've hung from a tree in the front yard and there we are pushing them. I know it sounds corny but I've realized a lot in this war. The happiness that you bring into my life is something I don't want to lose." He looked intently into her eyes.

"I agree. But why don't we make it May 05th, six months from this day and it will be spring the season for love." She replied as a smile grew on her face.

"I always loved May." He smiled slyly and gently drew her into another kiss. They laid on that cot for another hour just revelling in each other, not caring where they were or what was going on outside the entrance to her tent. They paid attention only to each other.

"I've got to go on Ward Duty in ten minutes, I should probably get ready." She got up from the cot and he stood beside her.

"I'll see you when you come off duty." He smiled and kissed her once on the neck before leaving her tent. Ward Duty was boring, every bit as boring as taking up a bunk in post-op which is what Mike, Dave and Gunny Grant were doing that day. They sat in their beds telling war stories about their days in the Corps during the Pacific campaign a few years earlier. The O'Gradys had been on Iwo Jima during the battles there and Gunny Grant had been on Saipan. All three of them had been a part of the fight for Okinawa and Guadalcanal.

The day moved quickly and before any one could believe that much time had passed it was already 1900 and the Ward Duty shifts changed. "Alright, Jarhead, I'm off work let's go hit the O Club." Belle smiled as she walked over to Mike.

"You got it, sweetheart." Mike got up from his bunk and the two of them walked out of the post-op doors toward the O Club.

"Gee, I sure envy Mike, sir." Gunny Grant said as he relaxed on his bunk looking up at the ceiling.

"Why's that, Gunny?" Dave was flipping through a medical journal that Major Blake had loaned him.

"Well sir, he just seems to have it all. You both have these swell careers waiting for you when this war ends and I'm just a career Marine. Now Lieutenant O'Grady has this great new gal on his arm. You guys just are really lucky, sir." Gunny kind of stammered through parts of his explanation.

"Don't be too happy for him, Gunny, we're being evacuated tomorrow to rejoin Colonel Puller and X Corps. The fighting has shifted to the far north. Rumour is Mao's boys are getting antsy and they want to join in the fun." Dave looked over at one very worried Gunnery Sergeant.

"You mean we're going to be heading up to the line to face more than just North Koreans, sir?" Gunny Grant's face was blanched.

"We're going to be facing the Chinese to if the scuttlebutt is right, Gunny. But don't worry. No amount of Chinamen could beat one prepared Marine division. Remember Colonel Puller told us that." The Major had an inspiring effect on his friend.

"You're right, sir." The Gunny replied.

"Alright, now let's grab some shut eye, Gunny." The Major dropped his book and turned over in his cot to go back to sleep.

The night passed somewhat differently for Mike and Belle over at the O Club. After a few Cokes, they shared a few dances and headed back to her tent for another night just wrapped in the loving solace they had found in one another. They woke up the next morning much in the same fashion that they had for the previous morning only a little earlier.

Dave, Gunny Grant and Mike all had their personal effects returned to them before they boarded the evacuation bus that was going to take them back to the line. "I'll write you, every chance I get. I've already started a letter home to my folks, telling them about this great gal I met." He smiled and raised a hand to brush against the softness of her cheek.

"I'm going to miss you terribly. I'll read every one of your letters, I'll treasure them." She smiled weakly and wrapped her arms around him in a tight hug and pressed her face into his chest to hide her tears.

"I'll come back to you my southern Belle." He cradled her head against his chest.

"I love you, jarhead." She sobbed.

"I love you too." He said as he placed a soft kiss on top of her head. With that he climbed on to the bus which gunned its engine and headed back to the front. Mike gazed out the window at the fading figure of Belle as she disappeared behind the bus. Mike looked lost and gazed down at the floor of the bus trying to compose himself.

"The fighting has shifted north, the Chinese are expected to push the line here near Chosin Reservoir. That's where we're headed, Marines. I've got a meeting with Colonel Puller when we get there and from then on we'll know what we're expected to do. With any luck we'll repel the counter-attack, cross the Yalu and end the war by Christmas!" Dave announced from the front of the bus to mass cheers from the rest of the Marines.

Days passed back at the 4055th MASH , the days were long for Captain Annabelle Parker but not as long as the nights. Nights when all she could dream about was her Marine in some far off battle, risking life and limb. The days stretched into weeks until one fateful night just after Thanksgiving in November of 1950.

_"This is Armed Forces Radio reporting that the Chinese have hit and ruptured the X Corps line at Chosin Reservoir Korea_." The call came in over the camp intercom and the surgical staff sprang into action as the buses, ambulances and choppers stampeded into the compound. Belle felt her throat close up as she went into action doing triage in the compound. When she saw Gunny Grant come down off the chopper pad with severe head trauma and no pulse her heart started to waiver.

When she returned from the chopper pad to the main compound she saw the familiar face of an orderly Marine Major. "Belle! Belle!" The raspy almost unrecognizable voice called to her. She walked over and knelt down next to David O'Grady who was using his last breaths to call her. "I tried to save him Belle! I really did! He told me to tell you that he loves you and that he'll watch over you always." Tears rose in Belle's eyes as she listened to his words and saw his eyes close for the last time.

Belle scrambled on to the bus and saw his big limp form lying over one of the stretchers. She prayed to God that he was still with her. That God had spared her one heart ache from which she might never recover. She walked over and shook him vigorously hoping to stir him.

His eyes opened through the pain for a split second. "Belle?" He whispered.

"Yes?" She basically cried as her eyes met his.

"So cold, Belle." He said with tears in his eyes. She wrapped her arms around his neck as if to give him something to hold on to. "Love you, Belle, never forget."

"No, Michael, never." She sobbed into his shoulder. In that instant she could swear she felt his spirit slip from her grasp.

In his apartment, North of Union Station, Jim Grant folded the last of the letters that his Uncle Mike had written home about the nurse named Belle. He folded the letter and slid it into its envelope with the others.

"Daddy! Are we going for that drive, daddy?" David jumped into his lap as he sat on the couch.

"Yeah, buddy. Let's go." He took his son by the hand and led him out the door to the jeep. David sat in the back seat and watched his dad pull out of the driveway and into the Washington streets. Jim hadn't bothered to change since he got home from work that day so the Marine Green still adorned his chest.

"Daddy, what's special about today?" David called from the backseat.

"Why would you think that something about today would be special?" Jim smiled in the rear-view mirror at his son.

"I'm staying up late daddy. Is this Daddy's Special Day?" David had a big but tired smile on his face. Nikki always used to call May 5th 'Daddy's Special Day' when they were married; it meant Jim went on a trip for a few days before coming home again.

"That's right, buddy." Jim laughed as his son seemed to understand. Jim put the car in park on the side of the street and he and his son got out of the car. David was wearing his own little Marine Corps uniform as his dad took his hand and walked with him up the steps of the Lincoln Memorial. They stood there for a second looking up at Mr. Lincoln.

"Daddy, why do people come to see President Lincoln?" David looked at his father like he had all the answers in the world.

"People come to see Mr. Lincoln because they want to ask him for guidance, for something very important. See, Mr. Lincoln did a lot of very good things for this country." Jim smiled down at his son.

"Can I ask him for something, daddy?" David looked at the medals on his dad's chest. His dad nodded and David looked up at the statue of the sixteenth President. "Mr.Lincoln, my name's Davey, Daddy says people come to ask you for important things. Mr. Lincoln, can you make Daddy happy again? Daddy's been really sad since Mommy died." With that David looked expectedly up at his father. "Did I do good, Daddy?"

"You did great, son." With tears in his eyes Jim Grant knelt down and placed a kiss on his son's forehead.

"I've seen your face before." A familiar voice came from behind them.

"It's the uniform." Jim replied as he turned and saw an expected sight.

"It's the man." She said as she walked up and stood next to him.

"How are you, Belle?" Jim said with a weak smile on his face.

"This day's always tough, James." She said as she hugged him. She looked down and saw David and gasped. "He looks just like him."

"That's what my grandfather says. She says Michael was reborn in this little guy." Jim mussed his son's hair.

"You've been coming here for twenty-five years on this day. Why do you come back, James?" She looked into his aging eyes.

"The same reason I came back the second year, Belle. I want to hear the story again."

_**If ye break faith** with us who die_

_We shall not sleep, though poppies grow,_

_In Flanders Fields_

- John McCrae, 1915

A/N: So what do we think? Did I succeed in living up to the tradition set in "Ghosts of Christmas Past" and "Each of Us Angels"? Did I fall short? Either way, feedback is most appreciated.


	17. A Family Dinner

A/N: I would sincerely like to thank all those who reviewed Chapter 16, it was a chapter I took upon myself as a challenge and apparently it was well-received. Here's a light chapter to break some of the angst and action.

"Figures, you host a dinner party and I wind up cooking." Harm stood in the kitchen making lasagne.

"Hey, I'm helping and you're teaching me to cook so zip it, Navy." Jim fired back as he stood by the stove scrambling some eggs.

"You even enlisted your son to help set the table. Have you no shame?" Harm jostled as he stood over the pan laying the noodles.

"Enlisted nothing, David likes to help don't you buddy?" Jim called over to his son who was helping Mac set the dinner table.

"Sure do, Daddy; Auntie Mac's a good teacher." David smiled as he rather emphatically set the silverware down next to the plates.

"See, Harm, somebody appreciates me." Mac smiled and looked up at her boyfriend who took on a look of offence.

"I appreciate you Mac, you know that." Harm smiled weakly as he protested from the kitchen.

"I know you do, sailor." Mac smiled as she showed David how to fold the napkins.

"Uncle Harm, Dad says you're one heck of a good guy for a squid." David beamed and nodded over at his father.

"Well your dad is my second favourite Marine; he helps me out a lot when I'm in tight spots." Harm smiled at the child who walked over to him in the kitchen.

"Is Auntie Mac your favourite Marine, Uncle Harm?" David was sitting on the counter Harm had lifted him on to.

"She sure is, buddy." Harm and Mac exchanged smiles across the room.

"Do you love Auntie Mac, Uncle Harm?" For a seven year-old he sure knew how to cut to the quick.

"Did you tell him to say that?" Harm looked over his shoulder at his friend who was standing over the stove laughing away.

"Hey, that kid has a mind of his own and you'd better answer his question or you'll never hear the end of it." Jim smiled and shook his head as he set up the food for the buffet.

"Yes David, I love your Auntie Mac very much." Harm smiled as Mac walked over to his side and wrapped her arm around his waist.

"Daddy says that when people love each other they get married, are you going to marry Auntie Mac?" David smiled so innocently that Harm couldn't help but laugh nervously at the question while Mac looked up in anticipation at him.

"You sure you didn't tell him to ask some of these questions?" Harm looked over at his friend expecting to see a look that would indicate he'd caught his hand in the cookie jar.

"I told you, the kid's got a mind of his own, the way he puts two and two together makes me worry that I might have raised another lawyer." Jim smiled as he got glasses out of the cupboard.

"No way, Dad! Recon Oorah!" David shouted from the counter which caused the adults to laugh. "So are you going to marry Auntie Mac?" David looked up at Harm who was at a loss for words.

"Well buddy, I uh…I uh…I uh." Mac was looking up at Harm anticipating some kind of answer. "I'm thinking about it." Harm recovered having found a suitably neutral answer. Mac smiled with a somewhat confused look on her face at Harm's response. She picked David up off the counter and the two of them walked back to the dining room to finish setting up the table.

"Nice save, Navy." Jim said quietly.

"Yeah I know that was a close call." Harm smiled and chuckled.

"I'll have a talk with him and try to explain to him why he shouldn't but into people's personal lives. I would've interrupted but it was kind of funny to watch a seven year-old make you squirm under questioning." Jim's laughter earned him a friendly punch to the shoulder.

"I know a lot of lawyers that would like to have that gift." Harm shot back. "Speaking of relationships, is Carolyn Imes coming tonight?"

"One drink and a few dances does not a boyfriend make." Jim refuted.

"So, you got dumped?" Harm inquired.

"No, we just decided there was no chemistry." Jim stated as he closed a cupboard door. Harm let the conversation drop after that comment. A knock came at the door and Jim moved to get it but his seven year-old was just a little to fast and he beat him to the door.

"Jason!" David yelled as Tiner appeared at the door.

"Hey Davey, how's school?" Tiner bent over to look the young man in the eye.

"School's good, teacher's mean but school's good." David smiled and walked back over to Mac as Tiner walked into the apartment.

"Tiner, welcome to my humble abode." Jim called from his place in the kitchen.

"Nice to be here sir." Tiner said as he walked over.

"Tiner, what've I told you about calling me 'sir' outside of work." Jim said almost as a reflex not even looking up from the counter.

"Right, sorry, Jim." Tiner said as he sat down on the couch in the living room.

"Not a problem Tiner, watch some TV make yourself at home." Jim stated sarcastically, noting that Tiner had done just that. As David and Tiner took their place on the couch with the Playstation; Harm, Mac and Jim continued to prepare the food. The next knock on the door came about five minutes after Tiner showed up. Once again the seven year-old fleet foot, beat everyone to the door.

"Uncle Bud! Auntie Harriet!" The seven year-old shouted as he opened the door wide for Bud and Harriet. Bud and Harriet had taken some babysitting time with little David when Jim was out of town on investigation. In many ways Bud and David got along because David always brought the video game over to Bud and Harriet's apartment and he and Bud played well into the wee hours of the morning.

"Hey Davey, are you and Tiner playing the video game?" Bud knelt down and the young man nodded with a very innocent gleam in his blue eyes.

"Come on, Uncle Bud, you rock at this game." David led Bud over to the couch where they sat with Tiner. Harriet walked over to where Mac had finished setting up the table.

"Almost makes you want one of your own doesn't it?" Harriet said as she stood next to Mac.

"Yeah, but I'm enjoying things as they are right now." Mac replied under her breath before she could stop herself.

"So you're not, thinking future?" Harriet looked with quiet anticipation at her friend and saw a growing smile.

"When the guys brought me back from Syria a few weeks ago, I realized how much the present can really mean, I just want to live for that." Mac whispered to Harriet while trying to contain the happiness in her voice.

"Yeah but still, come on, the idea of a few little Mac and Harms running around hasn't crossed your mind?" Harriet looked shocked.

"Well it's not exactly an easy topic to consider or talk about. It's not like 'Hey Harm, how are you and by the way let's have a child'. This is kind of delicate, Harriet." Mac's eyes softened and her tone gained an ounce of worry.

"Ma'am, I think you should think about the future at least. You know he's going to be overjoyed to be a father." Harriet placed a sympathetic hand on her friend's shoulder.

While the ladies were conversing near the dining table, Jim and Harm were having their own conversation in the kitchen. Harm looked over at the two women who seemed really emotionally enthralled in a conversation. "What do you think they're talking about?" Harm nudged his friend and pointed in the direction of the girls.

"Children." Jim replied after looking up.

"What makes you say that?" Harm smiled waiting for the argument.

"Scientific fact, Harm; two women over the age of twenty-three in a room with a child under the age of ten, not talking with their significant others and instead keeping the conversation to themselves are always talking about kids." Jim stated it like it was a medical fact.

"Alright, Great Gazoo, what more can you read into that conversation?" Harm gave Jim another tap on the shoulder and the Marine looked up from the cucumber he was chopping. Jim looked over and after spending a few seconds analyzing the body language and facial expressions he brought down his verdict.

"Mac's uncomfortable with whatever Harriet's talking about, either that or she's doing her taxes in her head again. Go rescue your girlfriend." Jim gave his friend a pat on the back and pushed him off toward Mac.

Harm trotted over to the dining table and roped his arm around her waist. "Hey Mac, can I talk to you about something quick?" His voice was light as he talked so he didn't unnecessarily worry her. She nodded and the two of them walked hand in hand over to the main area near the door where they carried on their own little aside conversation.

"When did you get so good at reading me?" She smiled as he took her by the hand.

"I've always paid close attention to you, Sarah." He smiled weakly, noting in the back of his mind that she was skirting the issue. "Besides, I had a little help." He gave her a grin and chuckled.

"Ah yes, the Marine Green Wizard, I'm starting to regret making you two friends." She smiled and pulled him close.

"Sarah, if it's important, you know you can talk to me, in fact I want you to talk to me so please, tell me what's going on." He looked with a plea into her eyes.

"Okay, it's just Harriet, she was talking about kids and I kept telling her that I just want to enjoy what we have right now, anything too big could really throw us off course and this is too good." Mac started never breaking eye contact.

"Yeah, I understand completely, it's nice to just be a couple for once. Our friendship, not too mention our relationship is too special to me to want to superimpose anything on it just yet. Promise me that you won't get wedding fever when we go to Bud and Harriet's wedding next week?

"You, my dear flyboy, have nothing to worry about. The only thing I'm looking for from you right now is maybe a few more pairs of comfortable shoes." She smiled and the two of them shared a laugh at the comment.

"Am I to guess that this means you've already found your good career and good man?" Swift one that Rabb boy, Mac thought. She nodded. He stepped into her and with a big smile he wrapped her in a big hug and lifted her off the ground. "Thank you for making me a very happy flyboy, sweet thing." He whispered into her hair.

"Now, let's get back to the party before anyone thinks we're so in love that we're considering running off together." She smiled and gave him an Eskimo kiss

"So, business as usual?" Harm looked at her with a coy smile.

"Which brings us to our last item for the night; I practically live at your apartment, don't you think that might be moving just a little fast?" She looked at him with a mature sensibility but she didn't want to push him away but there was just something liberating about having one's own space.

"Well, I don't know if we have to go that far, I mean, before we ever even started dating you were spending practically every night over at my apartment. I'm starting to forget what the place used to look like before your cute little six showed up on the scene." He discreetly slipped a hand down to her six.

"Harm! Someone might see!" She was in disbelief, they were trying to keep under the radar so that they didn't have to explain themselves to anyone at work.

"Someone did see, Major." The voice was that of the Admiral who had quietly slipped into the apartment without knocking. Didn't exactly matter, the door was half open anyway. The two of them came to attention almost out of habit. It was an act that brought a sarcastic smile to the Admiral's face.

Once the Admiral's presence was made known, a lightning bolt shot across the floor in the form of a seven year-old terror named David Grant. "Uncle AJ!" The youngster shouted as he fix himself to the two-star's leg. "You going to show me the rest of the SEAL moves from when daddy and Uncle Harm were in cereal?"

"It's pronounced Syria, buddy." The Admiral said as he knelt down to the seven year-old's height. The Admiral positioned the seven year-old behind him and told the child to put him in a headlock.

"See, now what you want to do is…" The Admiral was interrupted by Mac.

"You're teaching SEAL tactics to a seven year-old?" Mac said incredulously as she walked through the front door.

"Well, he's so bent on Force Recon I figured I'd try and make the small conversion from that to a SEAL." The Admiral protested as he got to his feet.

"I don't think it'll take Admiral, that kid is Marine Green from his belly-button out in all directions." Harm supplied.

"Uncle AJ, what's a SEAL?" David looked up at the Admiral who had willingly pulled more than his fair share of babysitting duty in the last few months.

"Well, you know how your dad is Force Recon, right?" The Admiral sat down at the table with the young man sitting on his knee.

"Yeah." David replied with a crooked smile.

"Well the SEALs are the guys who get called in when a job is too difficult for Force Recon." The Admiral had a broad smile on his face as he made the explanation.

"Hey, there'll be no Recon bashing!" Jim comically protested as he set up the last of the trays in the kitchen.

"Just trying to open his eyes." The Admiral called back. Jim came walking out to the table and everyone gathered around. Jim and the Admiral sat at opposite ends of the table with Harm, Mac and David on one side and Harriet, Bud and Tiner on the other. "Which one of us is going to take the lead in saying grace?" The Admiral asked from the far end of the table.

"I don't know, Mister Roberts, what's the protocol for saying grace at dinner?" Jim snapped his gaze over to Bud who looked flustered.

"I…I don't know sir. I suppose we could just let the senior or the junior officer do it." Bud tried to resolve himself.

"Well, that would mean it's either the Admiral or Tiner, any takers." Harm smiled from his place in the middle of the table.

"Why you people make things so complicated? I do it! Rub a dub, dub, thanks for the grub. Let's eat!" David shouted from his place near his father. The adults broke out into laughter at the young man's protest.

"And you have suspicions that he'll be anything other than a Marine?" Jim looked down the table at AJ.

"Not with an appetite like that, I know how Marines eat." Harm added which earned him a good smack across the arm from Mac.

"What's that supposed to mean?" Mac looked offended at her boyfriend who was searching for a suitable response and had the active attention of everyone at the table.

"What I meant to say was that it amazes me how you can eat like you do and still have a body that could make any woman jealous and every man fantasize." Harm's cover had earned laughs and remarks from the other men at the table.

"Nice save, Navy." Jim said as he gave Harm a clap on the shoulder.

"Close one, Commander." The Admiral added as the laughter died down.

"Alright, well now that the Junior Marine has taken the initiative in saying grace; Harm and I have worked through the day to prepare a buffet which is available for all and is laid out nicely in the kitchen, feel free to help yourselves." Jim motioned toward the kitchen and everyone picked up their plates and headed for the kitchen. The wave of hungry Navy and Marines raiding the kitchen was a priceless scene, there were nothing but hands and arms everywhere, like some great unleashed octopus had taken over the counter. The most touching part of the scene was when the Admiral took David up on his shoulders and let the youngster rest his plate on his head while the Admiral filled his own plate.

When everyone came back into the dining room, David was still sitting on the Admiral's shoulders. "You having fun up there, Marine?" Jim asked as he saw the broad smile on his son's face.

"Uncle AJ's head is perfect for my plate." David said with some excitement as the Admiral lowered him into his chair.

"Just don't get too used to it, slugger." The Admiral said as he gave David a pat on the head. The guests dug into their food exchanging light banter about the workplace and other events, especially the upcoming military baseball season.

"Now, from what I understand, this isn't softball, this is fastball; just like the big leagues. We're going to need Mac playing third base, which, though it may disappoint a few libidos around the office, means she won't be in that cheerleading uniform." Jim smiled as he raised a little bit of Harm's lasagne to his mouth.

"You got the line-up all set, Colonel?" Bud asked from the far side of the table.

"Sure do, Lieutenant. The Admiral's our pitcher. Tiner will catch. Mac's got third, Harm's playing short-stop, I've got second base and that leaves you at first Bud." Jim looked down the table awaiting the Admiral's approval.

"Sounds like a good line-up, Colonel. Ensign Sims, you and Commanders Imes and Mattoni will take the outfield, any problems." The Admiral looked over at Harriet who was smiling widely.

"No, sir." She replied.

"Good, now that we've managed to take Harriet's mind off of the fact that she's here and not home planning the wedding for another twenty minutes, does anyone have anything else that might help keep her mind off of it?" Harm looked around the table to see if anyone had anything else to talk about.

"We could talk about what we were going to do for Bud's bachelor party?" Jim suggested with a hesitant smile. His comment earned him rather annoyed looks from both Mac and Harriet. "Just a thought."

Harm nudged Mac with his elbow as if to get her to share her news and she shot him a look. "Harm, not here." She whispered.

"Come on Mac, I'm so happy I could shout it from the roof-tops." He whispered right back.

"Well what about…" She started but he stopped her.

"I don't care, to hell with the regs." He whispered with a great smile creeping across his face.

"Fine, but you're taking the heat for it." Mac pointed a foreboding finger at him. Harm wrapped his arm around her and the two of them got to their feet. "We have an announcement." Mac said as she leaned into Harm's side, one arm draped across his back.

"Ten to one she's pregnant." Jim challenged the Admiral across the table.

"At five dollars and I'll give you same odds that it's a marriage proposal." The Admiral fired back.

"Deal!" Jim said as the two men looked back up at a very confused and slightly annoyed Harm and Mac.

"Well, before we were so rudely interrupted, as I said we have an announcement. We've decided to finally come out with it, we're seeing each other and it's our three month anniversary!" Mac beamed and smiled as everyone stood up to congratulate them. Harm got handshakes and pats on the back from his friends and Mac got a hug from everyone. Eventually the festivity died down and everyone sat back in their seat smiling widely.

"Worst kept secret in the Navy!" Harriet looked over at her friends from her seat across the table.

"Or the Marine Corps, from now on you can only interrupt food if you've bigger news like engagement, pregnancy or death. And if it's good food you'd better be having twins." Jim added.

"This happened on the T.R. right, Commander; you were taking advantage of not being in the same Chain of Command, Commander?" The Admiral had a paternal grin on his face as he turned toward the younger man.

"Something like that, sir." Harm smiled and Mac laughed as she leaned against his arm.

"Well, Colonel, do you think this qualifies as more concrete evidence than a few late night work sessions and friendly kisses?" The Admiral quoted the argument Jim had made to keep his two friends out from under the UCMJ spotlight more than two months earlier.

"Sure does, Admiral. I'm lucky I get to take a crack at overturning the fraternization regulation in front of the Military Court of Appeals next month. If I can make my case, even if I can't completely overturn the regulation, I might be able to put enough holes in it to let you two slip through one or two of them." Jim smiled wisely as he saw his friends breathe a sigh of relief.

"And until Colonel Grant's case is argued before the Military Court of Appeals, I refuse to pass any reprimand for disobedience of a regulation that is falling under scrutiny." The Admiral saw the worry completely lift from their shoulders at his words. "Even if Colonel Grant's attempt to put the nix on the fraternization regulation doesn't work, I'm prepared to pull some serious strings to keep both of you at JAG.

"And I'll throw my influence in whenever I can." Jim added as they sat back enjoying their time after dinner.

"I guess this means Mac won't playing third base come summer. I can't have them making out on the diamond" The Admiral added with a small laugh.

"I think Harriet should just be grateful that the wedding is next week and she won't have to worry about aiming for Mac when she throws the bouquet." Jim added with a smile.

"I thought we were trying to take Harriet's mind off the wedding." Harm jostled his friend.

"You're right, sorry." Jim made a look like he was apologetic then his typical fraternal grin covered his face.

"I can't believe we all have to wear dress whites next week." Tiner look frustrated.

"Hey, it may be the last time for me, the Marine Corps is phasing out the dress white uniform for Marines. But hey give me the good old black any day. White makes me look too Navy." Jim smiled and got scowls from the Admiral and Harm but laughs from Mac and David.

"Hey, don't knock the whites; I know my girlfriend can't control herself when she sees me in my dress whites and gold wings." Harm looked auspiciously at Mac who was still leaning on his arm.

"In your dreams, flyboy." Mac smiled and looked up him with a 'don't go there' kind of look in her eyes.

"It's already happened there, Major." Harm said with a remarkably self-assured look in his eyes.

"Alright, it's 2000, time for the little one to go to bed." Jim got a disappointed look from his son. "Say your good-byes to everyone, buddy, okay?" David got out of his chair and got a hug from Harm first. Then he walked over to Mac who wished him goodnight and gave him a kiss on the cheek which caused him to blush.

"Good night Uncle AJ." David said with yawn.

"Night, slugger." The Admiral said as he gave the child a pat on the head.

"Night, Jay!" David was emphatic; he treated Tiner like an older brother.

"Night, Davey, be good and maybe you and I can play playstation again soon okay?" Tiner's words earned him one of the young man's smiles.

"Night, Auntie Harriet and Uncle Bud!" David waved to the two of them and they waved back before the young man toddled off to his bedroom.

"Now, if you'll excuse me; I have to go sing his favourite lullaby or he won't fall asleep for hours." Jim sighed and walked toward his son's bedroom with his guitar in hand.

"What's the lullaby?" Harriet inquired as she heard the faintest notes of the acoustic guitar.

"The Marine Corps Hymn." Mac replied as the group sat around the table.

"That kid's been through a lot in his short little life." The Admiral said introspectively.

"And if he follows in his dad's footsteps the way it looks like he's going to, he's going to go through a lot more." Harm added as his fingers began to idly stroke Mac's hair.

"Somewhere in the last two years, we all became a family. Why do you think that is?" Mac looked around the table as Jim sat down to rejoin them.

"Because all the necessary elements were there. The father…" Jim pointed across the table to the Admiral.

"My two trouble making oldest sons…" The Admiral nodded to both Harm and Jim.

"Our favourite lackey little brother." Mac pointed at Tiner.

"Our well-meaning and kind-hearted middle child." Harm pointed his index finger in Bud's direction causing the young Lieutenant to smile.

"Not to mention his sweetheart fiancé." Jim added as Harriet added her smile to the infectious wave of happiness that seemed to be engulfing the table.

"And the protective, feisty and intelligent woman that captured my brother's heart." It was by far the most composed thought Bud had ever laid issue to. A smile and a sigh of contentment passed through the Admiral as he nodded in his chair.

"We really are a family." Harriet squeaked as Bud wrapped his arm around her. Mac started to sob and Harm smiled slightly as she pouted into his chest.

"Too much for you, sweet thing?" He questioned as he saw her pouting into his chest.

"Yeah, that and you guys and your sentimentality." She smiled and sniffled as she tried to retract the tears.

"Admiral, we're special ops, we're not supposed to be this soft hearted." Jim smiled across the table.

"When these two first met," he pointed over at Mac and Harm; "I told them not to get too close because they were going to have to work together. In the last two years we've all violated that order and you know what? It was the best decision any of us ever made." The Admiral stated with a very fatherly tone.

"Hey, to family." Harm stood and raised his water glass. Everyone at the table stood and their glasses clinked together. "To Family." Was the response from all those at the table.

Eventually, that night, like all nights before it had to end. Tiner was the first to leave, after waving good-bye to everyone. After helping slightly with clean-up, the Admiral left for the long drive back to McLean. After the clean-up had finished, Bud and Harriet left for the drive back to Rosslyn. Soon all that were left were the regular tenants of the building North of Union Station.

"It was a good night, tonight." Jim slid the last of the glasses back into the cupboard.

"We should do this more often." Harm offered as he slung the last dish towel back over the handle of the oven door.

"Yeah, tonight was…something special." Mac drained the dishwater from the sink. The three of them walked toward the door to the apartment and Jim opened the door for his last two guests.

"Goodnight, you two." Jim had his crooked smile on his face.

"Goodnight, buddy." Harm said as the door closed behind them. Harm and Mac walked to the elevator silently his arm around her shoulders, her head on his shoulder and his lips pressed into her hair.

"Harm, how were we lucky enough to find each other?" Mac looked up from her head's resting place at his shoulder.

"I don't know. Combination of wise career choices and good timing maybe?" Harm smiled and pressed a kiss against the top of her head. "You did once tell me that you had good timing."

"I do, but you don't." She shot back with a smile.

"Hey, I've been making it into work on time since a certain Marine started waking me up in the morning." He smiled at her and she tossed him a playful elbow to the ribs.

"Harm, four minutes and thirty six seconds late is not on time." She informed him.

"Better than before." He insinuated as his arm slid down around her waist.

"Hey, just because you're not as late as you used to be doesn't mean I'm going to give you what you want as a reward." She smiled coyly and bumped her hips against him as they walked into his apartment.

"And what would that reward be, Major?" Harm smiled as he followed her over to the couch.

"If you don't know, flyboy, I'm not telling you." She smiled as they cuddled together on the couch.

"Maaaaac." Harm moaned as she leaned into him.


	18. Wedding Bell Blues

The morning routine was becoming clockwork around JAG headquarters. After the staff meeting; Harm, Mac, Bud and Jim would sit in an office and chat about their cases. With Bud able to sit second council the Admiral was including him more and more on investigations as well. Bud had been made Jim's de facto partner for any investigations and his second chair for any trials. This means the Admiral could keep Harm and Mac on the same team and try to keep them happy inside the office at least.

Today, Bud was going to try his first case on his own. It was a simple UA, but Bud was trying to push the desertion charge. "Bud, UA is practically the same charge just the punishment is less. Imes isn't that tough an opponent, I don't know why you're trying to raise the bar on this one." Jim said as he leaned back in the chair.

"It just makes more sense to charge him with desertion based on the amount of time he spent out of the service." Bud replied as Mac and Harm sat back and watched the two of them volley for position.

"Bud, this isn't a toughie, but the burden of proof is higher. Desertion requires that you prove that the accused was absent from an important duty. As I recall Seaman Caruthers missed out on the garbage detail." Jim shot back.

"It's my intention to prove that any service, no matter how trivial, is important service sir." Bud's argument was a persuasive one and it caused the Colonel to think for a second.

"I think he's got you there, Jim." Mac quipped.

"Glad you think so, Major, the Admiral gave me the task of assigning a second chair and I just gave it to you." Jim laughed slightly as Mac accepted the challenge.

"Alright, would you two sailors excuse us for a second while the Colonel and I discuss something?" Mac looked up at Harm and Bud who excused themselves from the office and stood outside in the bullpen watching the two Marines talk.

"Sir, how do you deal with having a Marine for a partner?" Bud sounded timid about approaching the subject.

"Bud, treat Marines like women. They're stubborn and they're convinced they're always right. As long as you remember that and never question that, you'll do just fine." Harm sounded smug he gave Bud a pat on the back.

"Sir, the Colonel's actually really good with me though. When he gets stuck on something he lets me take the lead and then we end up finding what we need." Bud protested.

"A Marine, let you, a sailor, take the lead in something?" Harm was notably not comprehending the situation.

"Yes, sir, he told me that with my mind I'll probably end up as the JAG, after you serve your term in that post." Bud smiled at the thought.

"And this is from a Marine?" Harm was in disbelief.

"Yes, sir." Bud nodded, confused himself at the Commander's behaviour.

"Well, I suppose anything's possible." Harm admonished as he saw the two Marines come out of Mac's office.

"We've reached an agreement." Mac stated with an innocent look.

"She'll take on the extra duty, in exchange, Commander you have to take her to a four-star restaurant tonight." Jim smiled defiantly at Harm

"Let me get this straight; you give her extra duty and in return I take her out to dinner at an expensive restaurant?" Harm laughed sarcastically under his breath.

"Wonderful how chain of command works isn't it?" Jim gave Harm a friendly slug to the shoulder. "Listen, just call up Di Manici's and tell them that you're the military legal liaison to the President, you'll have a table for two at eight o'clock, no problem, as long as you show up in your blues." Jim cracked them a wise grin.

"You've done this before?" Harm asked.

"Yeah, but not at Di Manici's." Jim shot back earning a round of laughs. The four lawyers were remarkably light-hearted considering that the JAG wedding of the year was staged to go off in T-minus seventy-five hours. Harriet was on the phone at her desk trying desperately to make sure that everything was scheduled to go off without a hitch. As the four of them stood over in the corner they could hear Harriet's voice reach what they had to assume was its maximum volume.

Bud led the way as they all crossed the bullpen to Harriet's desk. "Harriet, what's going on?" Bud asked with evident concern as he knelt next to his wife's side.

"This wedding is in three days and I just found out that my mother had the ice-sculpture changed." Harriet protested as she rose out of her seat. "Bud, I have to go down there and fix this up." Harriet made a bee-line for the big glass JAG doors

"That has to be the first time I've ever seen a junior officer leave her post without asking anyone of four present senior officers for permission." Jim stated in a rather random, humorous way. His remark earned him a rather nasty look from Mac. "What? I would have given her my permission." Jim protested but Mac still scowled at him. "Fine, if any one asks, she has my permission to go."

"Jack ass." Mac mumbled as she marched off toward her office.

"That time of the month?" Jim looked at Harm.

"I think it's just women and weddings." Harm smiled self-assuredly. Two men baring some resemblance to Bud got off the elevators and headed into the JAG bullpen. Bud went over to greet them as Harm and Jim just stood off to the side like spectators.

"Commander Rabb! Colonel Grant! I'd like to introduce you to some people." Bud called over and the two senior officers exchanged looks before heading over. "Sirs, this is my little brother Mikey."

"Nice to meet you, sirs." Mikey extended his hand to shake both Harm's and Jim's

"And this is…"Bud started, but the man Harm assumed was Bud's father cut him off.

"They call me Big Bud." The man was abrasive and cocky as he reached out and shook Harm's hand.

"They call me Big Jim." Jim extended his hand and shook Big Bud's with perhaps a slightly firmer grasp than he'd intended causing the man to wince.

"I keep forgetting you strong you Marines can be." Big Bud said as he shook his hand to get the circulation going.

"You should try their coffee." Harm jostled causing laughter from those who had tried Mac's coffee that morning. "So Mikey, Bud tells me that you want to go to Art School."

"That's right, sir. I'm a pretty good cartoonist." Mikey smiled. _Was I ever that young_? Was the thought that passed through both Harm and Jim's heads at that moment. That thought was immediately followed with _God, I'm old_.

"Mikey, it's Jim and Harm alright you're not in the service so we're not your superiors." Jim looked at him with a friendly smile.

"Don't get too used to that kid, once you're in the Navy, they won't be so free and loose with rank and regulation." Big Bud jostled his son.

"Dad, if Mikey wants to be a cartoonist there's nothing wrong with that." Bud protested.

"Nonsense, the Navy was good enough for me and it's good enough for my boys." Big Bud reached out and grabbed Bud's cheek and shook his head. "I was a Master Chief you know."

"You know Chief, if Art School is his dream why not let him pursue it, I mean Bud's in the Navy and he's doing the Roberts name more than proud." This time it was Harm's turn to step up.

"Yeah, but Art School won't make a man out of you, the Navy will; Navy made a man out of me." Big Bud fired back completely oblivious to how he was embarrassing both of his sons. What Big Bug hadn't anticipated was the third person to step up for Mikey.

"You know, Mikey, if you do enlist, I could talk to a friend of mine on the editorial staff at the Navy Times, they're always looking for a good visual satirist and if you ever decide you want to do something else in the Navy you just call me up and I'm sure that I can get you a letter of recommendation from both myself and Admiral Chegwidden to get you into Annapolis." Jim smiled smugly, knowing he delivered a deciding blow to Big Bud. "But, you should always pursue your dreams Mikey; your brother did and he's one of the best damn officers in this office. God knows, he causes fewer headaches for me than Rabb does."

"Really, sir, you'd be willing to do all that for me?" Mikey looked hopeful up at Jim who was smiling broadly.

"If it means having another man as good as Bud in this man's Navy or even in the professional cartoon world, I'll do anything I can to help you, kiddo." Jim gave Mikey a pat on the shoulder.

"Uh Colonel, do you think I could talk to you for a second?" Big Bud felt placated by the Marine and in front of his son's he certainly didn't like feeling placated.

"Sure Master Chief, my office is right over there." Jim guided Big Bud over to his office and the two men stepped inside and closed the hatch.

"What do you think is going to happen, sir?" Bud asked Harm with a worried look on his face.

"Nothing, Bud, I'm sure that the Master Chief just wanted to thank Jim in private for the Annapolis offer." Harm lied.

"Dad looked pretty angry, I hope he doesn't hit the Colonel." Mikey said as he looked up to Harm for guidance.

"Don't worry Mikey, the Colonel's a pretty big guy, he can handle it." Harm smiled as he looked down at the younger man.

"That's what I meant sir. The Colonel's a Marine and much bigger than my dad, I don't want dad to hit him cause I know the Colonel's trained to hit back." Mikey looked worried up at Harm who just smiled.

"Oh yeah, you're a Roberts." Harm laughed as he took in a confused looked from Bud and Mikey.

In Jim Grant's office, the storm that had been brewing in Big Bud's ego was about to unleash. The Colonel straightened the front of his jacket as he stood up in front of his desk. "What can I do for you, Master Chief?"

"Well you can start by explaining what the hell that was." Big Bud's ire was rising.

"I'm afraid I don't understand, Master Chief." Jim shook his head with an amused expression.

"That whole Mr. Fabulous rescues the world routine. I try and straighten my son out and you put stars in his eyes!" Big Bud was getting confrontational and his volume was rising.

"I was just trying to support him, he seems like a damn nice and respectful kid. Would I like to see a man like him in uniform? Sure, but I don't want to see anyone in uniform who doesn't want to be there. If he loves drawing and he's good at it; he should do it." Jim's tone was calming but his argumentative skills were doing double time.

"From your idealism, I can obviously tell you're not a father." Big Bud huffs with arrogance.

"Hold up there, sailor. You and I aren't as different as you might like to believe. You've got two kids and so do I. My daughter's at Annapolis and my son's seven. You lost your wife before her time and so did I." Jim's relatively calming tone caused Big Bud to turn around and look him in the eyes with a different perspective. Jim lifted the frame on his desk that contained the last picture taken before Nikki died with the entire family. Jim handed the frame to Big Bud.

"You do know what it's like?" Big Bud's tone softened.

"That's right I do. But see I let my children choose their paths. Gabbs is at Annapolis because that's where she wants to be, despite my warnings against the Marines, she's determined to become one and not just a Marine but an aviator to boot." Jim smiled in a fond recollection of the day Gabbs got her acceptance from the Academy. "Bud is something to be proud of Master Chief; he entered the service willingly and I think you should be the first to know that I've already signed my name to a request for his accelerated promotion."

Big Bud looked up with confusion. "Why do you do this? What's in it for you?"

"Not a damn thing. See when I lost my wife I started to look at what the Good Lord had given me; he gave me twenty-three years with a wonderful woman, two children and a life in the Corps. So I started to ask the Lord what I could give back and my priest told me that the greatest gift was to give of yourself." Jim put his hand on Big Bud's shoulder.

"You sound like some Sunday morning TV preacher." Big Bud looked as if he were about to actually smile genuinely.

"Master Chief, you've got two kids out there whose lives God has entrusted to you with the hope that you will act in their best interest. Be the father that they_ need_ you to be rather than trying to make them the sons you _want_ them to be." Jim nodded as Big Bud shook his hand.

"You really meant what you said? About getting Mikey into the Academy?" The sincerity in Big Bud's eyes warmed Jim's heart.

"With every fibre of my being." Jim tossed him a sly smile.

"Hey, if I ever need someone, you know just to talk to, when things get tough, would you mind if I…if I gave you a call?" Big Bud looked up at from the doorway that he was halfway through at the Colonel who was still perched on the edge of his desk.

"Two ears, no waiting, Master Chief." Jim said with a chuckle.

"We're throwing a send off for Buddy the night before his wedding, you think that maybe you could talk the Commander and the Admiral into going?" Big Bud smiled hopefully.

"I don't think it'll take much." Jim said with a sarcastic tone as he followed Big Bud out the door. The two men crossed the bullpen back to where Harm and the Roberts boys were standing.

"Come on Mikey, we've got to go." Big Bud said as he crossed the bullpen, he guided his son toward the elevator and both Bud and Harm watched as a wise grin crept across Jim Grant's face.

"What did you say to him, sir?" Bud was stunned by what had gone on.

"We talked about how much we had in common and I told him to talk to God." Jim said as he turned and headed off toward the Admiral's office.

"Sir, what could Colonel Grant and my dad possibly have in common?" Bud looked into his mentor's eyes with the hope of finding answers.

"You mean aside from a life spent in the service, children following their career footsteps and losing their respective wives." Harm informed his young apprentice who seemed to fill with even more questions.

"Sir, if there are so many similarities; why are they complete opposites?" Bud's question hit right to the core.

"Because sometimes Bud it's the choices you make in circumstances that end up turning you into who you are. Your dad didn't learn that but somewhere along the line, Colonel Grant did." Harm gave Bud a pat on the shoulder and headed over to his office. The bullpen was bustling today; everyone was trying to get ready for the weekend, after talking to the Admiral about Bud's bachelor party and convincing him to go Jim Grant was hurrying through the bullpen to his office when he was intercepted by his partner.

"Sir, I just wanted to ask if you were serious about that Annapolis offer for Mikey." Bud's face was alight in anticipation.

"Yeah Bud, of course, Mikey seems like a good kid and the Navy could use another good Roberts officer." Jim dropped off a file on his desk and kept walking alongside Bud over toward Harm's office.

"Thank you, sir. Sir, I do have one question though." Bud's statement had forced Jim to stop dead in his tracks.

"What is it, Bud?" Jim turned back toward his partner.

"Well sir, if I'm such a good officer, why didn't you take me with you when you and Commander Rabb went to rescue Major MacKenzie a few weeks ago?" Bud was really stewing over this, he was sure that the Colonel's decision that day meant that he thought less of him.

"Bud, you know the movie Apocalypse Now right?" Jim studied Bud's expression.

"Alright, now imagine that, but worse. That's effectively what Marine combat is. It's bloody, brutal, violent and even in the best of circumstances your chances of coming home are only 50/50. I wasn't willing to risk your life, Bud because I'm your friend. The likelihood of me bringing everyone back from that mission was one in ten; the chances of me bringing everyone back unscathed the way we did were one in fifty, I didn't want to see you get hurt, Bud." Jim gave his friend a friendly punch to the shoulder.

"I guess I understand, sir and thanks for helping Mikey today that was really nice of you." Bud smiled wide and Jim laughed.

"Not a problem, Bud, consider it a very small part of your wedding present." Jim opened the door to Harm's office.

"Any chance I can get a hint as to what the rest of the present is sir?" Bud asked hopefully.

"I think you're going to have to wait three days, Lieutenant." Jim closed the door behind him as he slipped into Harm's office.

"He's still trying to find out what you got him, is he?" Harm said from his desk.

"Yeah, but I think he's going to be pleasantly surprised with what we got him." Jim threw himself down in a chair.

"I still can't believe your grandfather held on to a '56 Ford Thunderbird for all these years, especially not with the condition it's in." Harm looked up from his paperwork with a smile.

"Hey, I'm just glad your car guy was able to get us such good prices when we were restoring it." Jim threw the folder on Harm's desk and raised two fingers to massage his temples.

1957 ZULU

JAG HEADQUARTERS

FALLS CHURCH, VIRGINIA

1 DAY UNTIL THE BIG WEDDING

"I still can't believe I let this idiot talk me into attending a bachelor party." Admiral Chegwidden strode out into the parking lot with Jim and Harm.

"Listen, if anyone here is an idiot, it's Harm. I have spent the last two days chasing his dress whites around DC and in the process I had to confront a male stripper and a launderer who was insistent that I date his daughter. Which reminds me, you owe me big; I had to give up a date with one very gorgeous waitress to take your launderer's daughter to his wedding." Jim stood next to his jeep and the Admiral next to his car.

"I agree, Colonel that was pretty idiotic. On three?" The Admiral tossed Jim a knowing look which was caught with a receiving nod. "One, two, three." Both officers turned toward Harm. "Idiot!" The two of them slipped into their cars and backed out of their parking spaces. Jim pulled the jeep up to Harm's feet and rolled down the window to reveal the fact that he'd put his sunglasses on.

"What did I do to deserve being called an idiot?" Harm said as he looked into the car.

"If you don't know, I'm not going to tell you." Jim shot him a sly smile.

"You know, you're starting to sound like Mac." Harm chuckled.

"Who's starting to sound like me?" Mac came up behind him and wrapped her arms around his waist.

"Uh…no one, absolutely no one, baby." Harm recovered. Jim laughed and made the sound of a whip cracking before driving the jeep out of the parking lot.

"You know, I think he's enjoying being single a little too much." Mac laughed as she and Harm walked over to his car.

"Yeah, about that. Bud's bachelor party tonight and I kind of said I would go but…" Mac pressed a finger to his lips.

"Harm, I'm not your mommy. You're a responsible adult. You can go out with your friends tonight and have fun but let me clarify one thing. You get drunk, you sleep at Jim's, you understand? Besides, Harriet's mom is throwing us a little girl's night tonight." Mac said with a coy smile.

"Oh really, and just when did you plan on telling me this?" Harm tossed back with a smile.

"I mentioned it this morning." She protested.

"Really? When?" Harm couldn't contain the smile on his face as Mac pled her case.

"At 0535." Mac said with her usual knack for time.

"Mac, I didn't wake up until 0555." Harm informed her.

"So, it's not my fault if I tell you something and you're too out of it to hear me." She smiled Harm's favourite smile and he ended his questioning.

"Fine, I'll accept your case counsellor but only because you look so damn cute when you protest." He smiled and gave her a peck on the cheek.

"Well, what's my reward for winning the case? Is your honour going to take me to Beltway Burger?" She leaned into him placing her head lovingly on his shoulder.

"Depends, what's the shower situation when we're getting ready for our respective nights out on the town tonight?" Harm gave a quick waggle of his eyebrows.

"Objection." Mac stated playfully.

"On what grounds?" Harm fired back as they pulled up to the nearest Beltway Burger.

"Council is arousing the witness." Mac whispered seductively into his ear as she watched his tighten his grip on the steering wheel.

"Not playing fair Mac, you know that works." He said under his breath as he reached through the window to pick up her drive-thru order.

"I thought this was your weak spot." She slowly ran her open palm up the inseam of his leg causing him to try and focus on the road and not what she was doing.

"This is so below the belt, Mac." He said as he pulled up to a red-light.

"And that little shower comment wasn't?" She looked at him suspiciously.

"Well that was just flirting, you've crossed into teasing." He said with a smile.

"And you don't tease me? What about all those massages?" She caught him with that playful look in her eyes.

"It's not teasing if it leads somewhere." Harm informed her as they pulled on to the street where his apartment building was.

"Who says this won't lead anywhere?" Mac tossed back as Harm put the car in park. "Meet me upstairs?" She whispered huskily into his ear.

"Shower?" He came back and watched as she bit her bottom lip with a cute expression on her face and nodded.

At 1900, a friendly knock came upon Harm's front door and Harm opened it wide to find his friend standing there, still wearing his sunglasses along with an orange Hawaiian shirt and khakis. "Come on, buddy, we have to get Bud liquored up before he walks the last mile tomorrow." Jim said with a smile.

"You just want an excuse to finally get on that Gold Wing motorcycle we fixed up." Harm said with a joking tone.

"Of course, I didn't buy these sunglasses for nothing." Jim replied as he stepped into the apartment. Harm grabbed his jacket and the two of them headed for the door. "There's two of us, we can't take the motorcycle." Jim sounded annoyed.

"We're going to have to find another one to restore." Harm smiled and gave his friend a pat on the back. "Hey Mac, we're heading out now!" Harm called toward the bedroom. Mac came walking out of the bedroom in a green USMC t-shirt and a pair of capris.

"You two behave." Mac pointed a scolding finger at the two of them.

"We will, love you, baby." Harm said as he wrapped her in a hug.

"Love you too, sailor." She said as she gave him a squeeze.

"Alright, already, let's go do some debauching." Jim said as he and Harm walked out of the apartment and toward the elevator. They took Harm's car to the club that Big Bud had given them directions to and they saw the Admiral in the parking lot. "You made it, sir."

"Yeah, I'm here, we've got to the give the Lieutenant a proper send-off, of course." The Admiral smiled as the three of them walked into the bar to find many of the festivities had already begun. Big Bug was raiding the bar and he was a mess.

"Hey, look, the cavalry's here!" Big Bud slurred as he stumbled his way over from the bar. "Leave it to officers to show up in the middle of a party, huh."

"Master Chief, you're drunk off your ass. I'll have the bartender put on a pot of coffee and we'll sober you up alright?" Jim said trying to sound convincing.

"To hell with you, Colonel! I thought about what you said today, no one is that nice, not if they can help it! Why I ought to." Bud reeled back a planted a right cross right on Jim's jaw sending the Marine back a few steps. "What are you going to do about that, Mr. Marine?" Jim ran a hand across the part of his jaw that had been struck and he looked Big Bud in the eye.

"Absolutely nothing." Jim said and moved passed Big Bud into the crowd; walking toward Bud. "Hey Bud! How're you enjoying your last night with any freedom?" Jim called over to Bud who was walking around the club.

"Honestly, sir, it's all kind of weird." Bud replied as he saw his friends walk over to him.

"It's supposed to be, Lieutenant. It's an odd tradition that the last night before a man gets married, his closest friends take him out and tempt him to do everything to prevent him from getting married." The Admiral smiled wisely as he crossed his arms in front of his chest.

"What was you bachelor party like, sir?" Bud shouted over the music.

"Don't remember it, Lieutenant." The Admiral supplied.

"What about you, Colonel?" Bud looked over at Jim whose face bore a bemused smile.

"I was pretty drunk, but I remember something about a watermelon and a pick-axe." Jim smiled and chuckled as he tried to recover memories of that night. "And I remember Colonel O'Hara suspending me from a Huey above Red Rock Mesa. That's about it."

The Admiral and Harm looked at one another and mouthed the word 'Marines'. Before having a little chuckle at the story. "Alright, let's fan out and try and make Bud's bachelor party a night he'll never forget." Harm clapped his hands together and walked with Bud over to the stage where the 'performance' was going on. As the night progressed, it was a calmer bachelor party than many had anticipated. That was at least until Bud wondered off and ran into a stripper that he went to school with.

Harm had walked over when he saw Bud helping the younger woman come out of some back room. "Is she okay, Bud?" Harm said with some urgency in his voice.

"Yes sir, she's just…"

"Pregnant." The stripper cut Bud off and gave him a hug. Big Bud saw the display and came stumbling over.

"Hey, why don't you get up there and dance for a real man." Big Bud slurred and grabbed the girl by the arm. The girl took a swing at him but she was accidentally thrown of balance striking Bud instead. The punch seemed to have started a bar brawl. Some big guy at a nearby table stood up a delivered a punch to Harm's cheek sending him flying back into a table.

At the sight of their friends being assaulted, Jim and AJ got up from their seats and hurried into the fray. The two of them grabbed the guy that had hit Harm and tossed him over the bar. Only to be met with three of them man's very angry drinking buddies. The SEAL and the Recon Marine went to work dispatching their latest assailants acquiring only minimal bruises to their knuckles and ribs.

Harm shook himself to square up his consciousness as he saw the Admiral's arm come down to help him up. "What happened, sir?" Harm got to his feet.

"The Marines have landed." The Admiral pointed over to where their friend was helping Bud get away from some rather imposing shady characters.

"Bud, get out of here!" Jim shouted as he gave a head-but to a biker who was getting a little too close.

"No, sir. I'd rather stay here and help." Bud shouted back over the music as he tried to hold his own in a fight.

"That's admirable, Lieutenant; have you given any thought as to what you're going to tell your future wife when she finds out you were arrested in a bar fight that started with you getting punched by a pregnant stripper?" Jim shouted as he delivered a deciding blow to one man's chin.

"Maybe I should go, sir." Bud had thought it over and the Colonel was right, this would be one explanation it would be really hard to make.

"Wise decision, Lieutenant." Jim's shout was cut off by a hard blow to the ribs. Bud ran for the door just as the police were coming in and like it or not, soon, all of the JAG officers were on their way down to the police station. Harm, Jim, Bud and the Admiral were all crowded into the back of one paddy-wagon.

"So, who are we going to call to bail us out?" Harm offered.

"We can't call Harriet." Bud said as he buried his face in his hands.

"We could call the SECNAV?" Jim offered only to receive stern condescending looks from the Admiral. "Just a suggestion."

"Harm, I think we're going to have to call Mac." The Admiral said with a defeated sigh.

"No way! If she has to bail me out, I'll never hear the end of it." Harm protested.

"Harm, as it is, the second she finds out about this, you'll never hear the end of it." The Admiral's rebuttal came from years of experience.

"Fine, but Bud's making the call." Harm said with a smile.

"Me? Why me, sir?" Bud protested.

"Your bachelor party, by tradition you have to make the bail call if we get arrested." Harm was trying to contain some serious laughter as AJ and Jim caught on to what he was doing.

"Is that true, sir?" Bud looked over at Jim who decided to go along with Harm's plan.

"Afraid so, Lieutenant." Jim said as he nursed his ribs.

"Sorry Bud, looks like you've got to make the call." Harm said with a smile and watched as both the Admiral and Jim strained to contain their laughter. The four men were hauled out of the paddy-wagon when they got to the station. Bud was allowed to make the phone call and ice-packs were administered to those who requested them. Bud came walking back into the cell with a drained expression on his face. "I'm guessing you made the call Bud. What did Mac have to say?"

"Before, during or after the shouting sir?" Bud replied as he lifted his head from his hands.

"Alright, Bud, let's take a look at that nose, you got a pretty wicked cut across the bridge." Harm was handed a tissue to clean away some of the blood.

"Hey Bud, that was pretty cool the way you decked that one guy; you'd make a hell of a Marine, if I took you through boot." Jim held an ice-pack to his ribs.

"After tonight, no thanks, sir." Bud replied and Harm smiled as he cleaned away most of the blood from Bud's nose.

"It was pretty funny watching Rabb get tossed like rag doll by that first guy." The Admiral said with a chuckle. Their reverie cause conversation about the fight to break out among the other prisoners in the cell.

"Yeah, well, at least Jim learned that Marines aren't invincible. How you doing over there Marine?" Harm called to his very sore friend.

"My ribs feel like Mike Tyson's xylophone." Jim replied with a smile. The Admiral had walked into the shadows at the back of the cell when Mac was allowed in to see them.

"You had better have a good reason for this, Lieutenant!" Mac demanded as she stood there fuming looking at Bud. Harm and Jim stepped up next to Bud to try and draw some of the heat off of their friend. "Is it too much to ask that I not have to bail out my boyfriend the night before his friend's wedding? Colonel Stacy was right, the two of you really are the Duke boys. Nothing but cars, fighting and getting yourselves into trouble!"

"Calm down, Mac, we're not drunk, we didn't even start the fight. We just stood up for ourselves. In fact your boyfriend's really a hero. He stuck up for the Lieutenant and he bailed me out of a couple of tight jams." Jim offered as he leaned against the bars of the holding cell. Mac's gaze softened and her tone turned from anger to concern.

"What is the Admiral going to think when he hears about this!" Mac demanded still looking disappointed.

"Oh, I don't think he'll mind." The Admiral stepped out of the shadows at the back of the cell.

"Sir, I…uh I didn't see you there." Mac recovered.

"That was the point, Major and go easy on these boys. The Colonel was right, Commander Rabb here was a real hero." The Admiral gave Harm a hard pat on the back. Mac tossed Harm a weak smile before leaving to finish the paperwork.

"What was with the Harm the Hero routine guys?" Harm asked in his best litigator voice.

"Well, Bud's going to be in trouble for getting arrested the morning before his wedding anyway. No need for you to go down with him; so if you look noble in Mac's eyes, you won't be in the doghouse. The Admiral and I have nothing to lose, there's no doghouse to be in for us." Jim said as understanding dawned on Harm's expression.

"Let me guess, I owe you big for this?" Harm asked with chuckle under his breath.

"So big." The Admiral replied with a smile.

1400 ZULU

THE CHURCH

97 MINUTES BEFORE THE WEDDING

Harriet sat in the bridal suite at the back of the church pouting to her mother and Mac. She was rather upset about what had transpired the night before at Bud's bachelor party. Harriet's mother had adopted a rather condescending attitude to the whole event while Mac had taken the approach of trying to talk reason with Harriet who was fuming with anger at Bud.

In the rectory, Bud was getting prepared with his groomsmen. "Oh man she's never going to want to marry me, not after what happened last night." Bud was pacing the floor.

"Here, I've got an idea," Jim picked up a pen and paper from the desk and handed it to Harm. "You write, Bud you tell me what you want to say and I'll edit." Jim looked around got approval for his crazy idea. Harm leaned over the desk and pressed the pen to the paper. "Every good letter has to start with 'Dear'…" Jim thought for a moment. "Bud this has to sound like it's coming from you so is there anything you call Harriet in private?"

"Sir, I don't think…" Bud started but Jim cut him off.

"Lieutenant, do you want to get married or not?" Jim was dead serious.

"You'd ask that question to a man who has cold feet?" Harm questioned.

"Good point, sorry, Bud." Jim tried to look apologetic.

"Gee, I wonder what you're going to say when I get married." Harm asked before realizing his comment would start questioning.

"When's that going to be by the way?" Jim inquired as a smile returned to his face.

"After I buy Mac a ring." Harm replied focusing on the paper.

"Knowing you, we're looking at five or ten years. Anyway, Bud you're going to have to help us help you on this one." Jim looked at his partner.

"Fine, it's Snuggles are you happy?" Bud seemed slightly annoyed.

"Good, so the note should start 'Dear Snuggles'; Snuggles, really?" Jim smiled and looked over at Bud whose expression turned to one of embarrassment. "Not important, now what do you want to say to her, Bud?"

"I want to tell her that I love her, I think that's the most important thing sir." Bud said as his spirit started to recover.

"Okay let's try 'Never did I know true love until you entered my life.'" Jim said as he instructed Harm to write.

"Hey, I like that!" Bud got out of his chair and walked over to where the note was being written.

"Alright, what else do you want to say Bud?" Harm asked as he finished writing the first line.

"That, I don't know I'd do without her, I guess." Bud answered.

"That line's fine as it is." Jim said and Harm scribbled it on to the page.

"Last thing Bud, really sell it." Jim was trying to rile up something spectacular in his friend.

"Would you do me the honour of becoming my wife?" Bud looked at his friends for approval and found them smiling. Harm scribbled the last line and Bud signed it before Jim dashed out of the room and across the church to the Bridal Suite. Panting, he knocked on the door and stood ramrod straight.

"Who is it." A voice with a heavy southern drawl called through the door.

"Marine Courier." Jim said with his best official voice.

"What do you want?" Mac protested as she opened the door.

"Message for the bride, compliments of the groom." Jim smiled and tipped his cover. "Good day, ma'am" He sprinted back to the room where Bud and Harm were still waiting on word. Back in the Bridal Suite, Mac had walked the message over to Harriet who read it and struggled to fight back little sobs of joy.

As the wedding started Harm, Jim and Bud found themselves standing at the front of the church waiting for Harriet to walk down the aisle.

"Hey, if you're the best man what does that make me?" Jim asked, standing next to Harm.

"Second Best?" Harm offered.

"Men, have died for calling Marines that." Jim said, the entire conversation was being carried on in whispers.

"Ten bucks says Bud forgets a word during the vows." Harm offered.

"Deal." Jim replied and the two of them shared chuckles beneath their breath.

The ceremony was conducted in the typical tradition of a military wedding. This meant that at the end there had to be the arc of swords. Harm lead the procession of officers out of the church and gave the orders for the halt and drawing of weapons. "Presenting for the first time Lieutenant and Mrs. Bud J. Roberts Jr.!" Harm called after the swords of the officers had been turned into the wind. Bud and Harriet proceeded through the arch smiling and then when they reached the exit to the arch, Harm brought his sword down and tapped Harriet on the rear-end with the words "Go Navy!"

Later at the reception after the greetings and the kissing of the bride Harm stood to deliver his speech as best man. "I've known Bud for a while now and he's one of my closest friends. In the time I've known him, I've seen him transform from a timid Public Affairs Officer to a savvy and intelligent investigator. I've seen him grow into a man that anyone can be proud to know and call a friend. When Bud met Harriet, I knew his life changed forever because she gave him that special spring in his step that only comes when you're in love. I think I can safely say that Harriet prevented Bud from turning into that wild child we all know is under that surface he's presenting to us." This comment garnered laughs from the crowd. "And as long as Bud is kept away from the corruptive influence of his senior officers, he should be fine. Now, there is one last thing. I know Harriet's been a real stickler with getting this wedding just right and I know Bud's been angling to find out both what Colonel Grant got him and what I got him so I figured now was the time for a surprise."

Harm let out a wolf whistle and a white '56 Ford Thunderbird came rolling up the long drive to the outdoor reception. The license plate read 'JAG MAN' which made all of Bud's co-workers laugh. "Colonel Grant and I spent the better part of the last little while restoring this thing for Bud and along with Mac who brought out sandwiches whenever we got hungry…" this comment earned Harm a playful smack to the arm, "We figured this should be our gift to you."

Bud's eyes were wide and Harriet's mouth agape. "Sir, we couldn't possibly…" Harriet started.

"Not without these, you couldn't." Harm tossed Bud the keys. "Have a happy and healthy life together, you two. To Bud and Harriet!" Harm called and everyone stood and raised their glasses to toast.


	19. To Russia With Love

A/N: This would technically be the Season 3 Finale, yeah I know but the story doesn't end here no, no. This is just a midway point. The setting is going to switch so that it carries both storylines so look for CAPITAL LETTERS to tell you what storyline it is.

FALLS CHURCH…

"What the hell do you mean, they went to Russia!" Jim Grant was shouting in AJ Chegwidden's office.

"Watch your tone, Colonel! Rabb accumulated his leave and he and MacKenzie are in Russia as we speak. They are, from what I understand, trying to find Rabb's father." The Admiral replied.

"Rabb's father? Harm's dad was shot down over Vietnam what the hell would he be doing in Russia?" Jim Grant's face was buggered up as he tried to connect the dots.

"Apparently, Harm has information that his dad was taken as a prisoner back to Russia by the KGB after the war." The Admiral watched as a wash of realization came over his friend.

"I'm going after them, you'll have my application for leave on your desk in twenty minutes, sir." Jim got up to storm out of the office when he heard the Admiral's voice.

"At ease, Colonel!" The Admiral shouted and Jim stopped. "I have orders from Special Agent Webb to keep you from going after Rabb and MacKenzie." The Admiral knew he'd have to stand toe to toe with the Marine to keep him in line.

"Fuck Webb, I'm leaving, sir." Jim went to turn again.

"The orders were approved by Secretary Nelson." The Admiral informed him knowing it might get him to think twice.

"I'll alter my previous statement then. Fuck Webb with Nelson, I'm still leaving, sir." Jim was pushing but the Admiral wasn't going to put up with some gun-happy cowboy Marine this afternoon.

"Stand down, Marine!" The Admiral was red-faced and toe to toe with Jim. "You have your own set of orders that came in over the wire this morning Colonel. They came from the SACEUR." The Admiral was right up in Jim Grant's face.

"Wes Clark, what does he want? And what could this possibly have to do with Webb?" Jim walked back toward the chair he was sitting in.

"I don't know. But as of now, all I know is that Rabb and MacKenzie are in Moscow and they're expected to call in some time tonight. At which point, you are to be in my office, so that Agent Webb can explain the orders to you." The Admiral was rubbing his temples.

"If Wes Clark and Clayton Webb are on the same team, this must be something pretty serious. I have a feeling I know what I'm going to be asked." Jim sat in the chair and let out a sigh.  
"What are you thinking?" The Admiral looked over the desk.

"That Marlow's going back down the river." Jim said with an imagery not lost on the Vietnam vet.

MOSCOW, RUSSIA…

"Baby, have I told you how sexy you look in that white nightie?" He wrapped his arm around her as they spooned on the hotel bed.

"I could've guessed, your mouth didn't close for six minutes and nineteen second after you saw me in it. It's nice to hear you say it though." She smiled and mumbled into her pillow. A knock came at the door and the two of them got out of bed to answer it. Harm opened the door and tussled with the man on the other side of it, eventually pinning him.

"Alexei?" Harm was shocked to say the least.

"Is me, boss." Alexei replied. "I figured I could interest you in Moscow night life yes?" The Russian cab driver smiled almost innocently at them. Harm and Mac looked at each other suspiciously and told Alexei to wait in the hall while they got ready. After getting dressed and making sure they were armed they met Alexei in the hall and followed him out of the hotel to his cab. Mac opened the door and heard the voice that drew her and Harm back to their investigation on the USS Hornet almost ten months earlier.

"How are you, Sarah?" The man asked.

"Falcon." The single word from Harm's lips sounded almost like a condemnation.

"Ah yes, Commander Rabb. What brings you to Russia?" Falcon seemed to almost be familiarizing as the two of them got in the cab.

"The truth." Harm stated simply. "Where's the list, Falcon? Or don't you and your KGB buddies know what I'm talking about?"

"Commander, I work for the Federal Security Service first of all and secondly, Commander, I'm here to talk to you about false information you may have received." Falcon informed as his cold gaze never drifted from Mac.

"I have no idea what false information you're talking about, Falcon." Harm said smugly.

"I have reason to believe that you've received false information that there were POWs shipped to Russia at the end of the war and that you're here to find one of the said POWs." Falcon's tone carried with it a rhythmic, industrial efficiency.

"You mean like a twenty year-old picture of my father taken at a Siberian train station." Harm shot back.

"Who sent you the picture?" Falcon leaped on the insinuation.

"Why should I tell you?" Harm's litigator skills were kicking in.

"Because maybe there's something I can do for you." Falcon replied.

"I thought it was false information?" Harm's little verbal trap was kicking in.

"It is, which means it's harmless for me to try and help you." Falcon shot back.

"I tell you what I know about the person who sent me the photo and you help me get whatever information I ask for." Harm demanded.

"Fair enough." Falcon replied.

"I don't know who send me the photo; unmarked envelope and no return address." Harm smiled victoriously. Alexei pulled them back up to the front of the hotel. "Now, as for what I want; I talked to an ex-KGB agent who gave me my father's number when he was a prisoner. Number S2954; find out all you can." Harm and Mac got out of the cab.

"Oh, Sarah, I was hoping that I might call up that rain-check I owe you for a steak dinner." Falcon's gall was enough to get to Harm.

"I'm otherwise occupied; thanks for the invitation though, Mark." Falcon could see how Mac had reached for Harm's hand and intertwined their fingers when she'd said that. Alexei's cab pulled away into the Russian night as Harm and Mac walked back up to the front doors of their hotel.

Just as they were about to go through the revolving door they saw a familiar face come through the door from the hotel to greet them. "Colonel Parlovsky." Harm said with no surprise at all.

"Commander Rabb, nice to see you again and you Major MacKenzie. No Captain Grant this evening, I was so hoping for a reunion." The older man said with a sly look playing upon his features.

"We should talk." Harm said trying not to come off as anxious.

"Not here, I know an alley where the walls have no ears." Parlovsky replied as he started lead them in the direction of this alley. When they came around behind the building Parlovsky turned to talk to them. "I see you met Major Sokol, he's ex-KGB you know?"

"He said he was with the Federal Security Service." Mac replied quizzically.

"Is that what he told you? No, he's most definitely working for hard-liners in the old KGB. I work for the Federal Investigative Organization, it's akin to your FBI." Parlovsky replied.

"Sokol, said something similar about the Federal Security Service, he also wanted to know about the photograph." Harm pushed.

"Did you tell him I sent it to you?" Parlovsky's voice seemed to take on an edge of worry.

"No, I told him it was unmarked, no return address." Harm supplied the information and watched relief overcome Parlovsky's expression.

"That's good, Commander. I will be in touch." Parlovsky went to leave before Harm stopped him.

"Why did you send me the photograph?" It was a question that had been bugging Harm.

"Call it a sentimental act by an old man whose son went missing in Afghanistan." Parlovsky grinned widely. "I still believe your father is dead, Commander."

"Is your son dead?" Harm asked and the older man smiled at his response before just walking off.

"Spy games in Moscow?" Mac let out a hard breath into the cold crisp air.

"Tell me about it." Harm looked back at her. "So sweet thing, what do you say we get you back up to the hotel and back into that white nightie?" Harm said with a smile.

"One track mind, Flyboy." Mac replied with a smile of her own.

The two of them went back up to their hotel room and tried, largely in vain to fall back asleep. They spent most of their time spooned together in the bed talking about things that were going on back at the office. Well actually, Mac was talking; Harm was more or less just staring and nodding his head in agreement every time she asked a question. He couldn't understand why he'd never seen this particular nightgown of hers; it was fast becoming his favourite. The way it clung to her body was making very difficult for him to even remember to nod at certain points.

"You're not listening to a word I'm saying, are you?" She looked up at him.

"Well it's just…I mean, damnit you're too beautiful!" Harm said trying to argue his case after being caught.

"You didn't seem to have a problem concentrating through two years of investigations." She retorted with a flirtatious tone to her voice.

"Oh, trust me, I so did. That one case with the abusive husband in Norfolk; when you came to the door in that pink bathrobe, the image was engrained into my fantasies for months." Harm protested almost evangelically. "Now, this white nightgown; are you trying to ensure my libido responds to no one but you?"

"Darn, you caught on to my plan." Mac responded with a playful slap to the shoulder.

"Well, your plan is working." Harm's eyes returned to the part of her body they were previously concentrating on. Just as they leaned into one another an interrupting knock at the door came. "Who is it!" Harm called.

"Is me, boss!" Alexei's voice called through the door.

"What do you want, Alexei?" Mac opened the door and let the flustered cab driver into the hotel room.

"Major Sokol, he wishes to see you yes?" Alexei managed to get out as Harm rushed him into the room.

"What? When? Harm looked quizzically at the cab driver.

"Soon as possible, boss." Alexei replied. Harm pushed Alexei back out into the hallway so that he and Mac could get dressed. In pretty much five minutes flat they were ready to go out and tackle another obstacle that stood between Harm and finding his father. They found their way through the hotel and back down to Alexei's cab. After piling into the back of the cab they found themselves on their way to a secluded park in residential Moscow.

Harm saw 'Falcon' standing outside about a hundred yards away from his car, in the middle of the park waiting for them. Alexei pulled the car up next to 'Falcon' and Harm and Mac got out. They walked over to Falcon side by side and found him to be carrying a red folder.

"This was all I could find on Prisoner S2954, there's no name so there's no way you can be sure it's even your father." Sokol stated as he went to hand Mac the folder. Harm reached for it and Sokol retracted his arm. "Do you read Russian, Commander?"

Mac reached out and took the folder from him and rifled through it. "Harm, it says here that your father was held prisoner at Lebionka prison until he was moved to Buloika in 1977 and then in 1980 he…"

"He died." Harm said solemnly.

"Harm, he escaped." Mac supplied with a smile. The two of them turned back toward the car and got ready to head back to the hotel. Alexei pulled the cab away from the park and he slowly navigated the roads back to the hotel. "Alexei, how far is it from here to Buloika?"

"About thirteen hundred miles. There is a shuttle plane that makes the trip once a week." Alexei informed them.

"Do you think you might be able to get us on that plane?" Harm asked leaning into the front seat.

"I see what I can do, boss." Alexei said as he pulled up to the front of the hotel. Harm and Mac got out and went up to their room to finally get the good night's sleep that they so desperately needed. The next morning they were going to have to call in to Falls Church.

FALLS CHURCH….

It was late in Virginia. The tired figures of AJ Chegwidden, Clayton Webb and Jim Grant crowded around the phone in the Admiral's office. Webb had two purposes to serve here tonight, he was going to help Harm and Mac in their Russian escapade as much as he could and he was going to fill in Colonel Grant on the mission that was going to pull him away from his post at JAG for the next little while.

The call came in late that night. "Chegwidden." The Admiral's voice took instant command of the phone.

"Admiral, it's Commander Rabb."

"Of course it is, who else would call at this hour." The Admiral replied with a smile.

"Admiral, we have news, we have reason to believe that my father may still be alive. He escaped from Russian custody near the town of Buloika in 1980 sir." The announcement took everyone in office in Falls Church by surprise.

"Clayton Webb, are you sure about this, Commander?" At the sound of Webb's voice you could almost hear Harm's dejection on the other end of the line.

"I've got the folder right here, Webb." Harm said into the phone with tone that made the Admiral and Jim sure that they could hear the grin on his face.

"Rabb, who gave you the information? " Webb said into the phone.

"A Major Sokol." Harm replied. The name caused Jim and Webb's eyes to light up.

"Harm, you're playing some serious Russian spy games here." Jim stated in a foreboding tone.

"What your Colonel is alluding to, Rabb, is that Sokol is Parlovsky's protégé, they could be working together, off of each other or even against each other. Be careful Rabb, we have a man working at the American embassy, go to him if you need anything." Webb said.

"I never thought I'd say this; Thanks, Webb." Harm clicked the phone off.

"Alright, Webb, you have precisely ten minutes to explain my orders before I resign my commission and go ensure that Harm and Mac don't get themselves killed in Russia, so make it fast." Jim was out of his chair and physically backing Webb into a corner.

"You're getting on a plane to Naples tonight. A private jet out of Andrews, chartered by the SACEUR himself and he's even meeting you at Andrews. You're going to Naples to meet up with Force Recon X; a team that was compiled just for this mission. We've got a Serbian weapons engineer that's going to defect and give us the sites of Milosevic's anti-aircraft stations. We had sent an operative in with a SEAL team to get the engineer out but they got pinned down by a death squad in Kosovo. You're going in to get them out." Webb finished as he gulped for air after getting that explanation out in one breath

"Is no one at the Agency capable of getting an op right the first time? I thought I finished with this in '94!" Jim shouted.

"'94?" AJ asked slightly confused by the latest tidbit of information.

"AJ, your Colonel has been - since 1977 - a Marine Recon mercenary at CIA disposal. He has eight medals from missions with us that he can't even wear on his uniform due to the nature of his actions in earning them. Surely you noticed that a good two pages of his service record are under black ink?" Webb supplied.

"I don't like you picking apart fully functional Recon teams to compile this 'All-star' team and I don't like being recalled after I told you idiots I was done back in '94 but since this is technically an order from a four-star and not the director, I'll go. We'd better get to Andrews, now!" Jim headed for the door. "We'll take my car, I've got my cammies in it."

"Alright, Colonel, let's go." Webb caught up with Jim as they went for the door.

"Jim!" AJ called and the Marine stopped halfway through the door of the office. "Give'em hell, Marine! I'll take care of your son." Jim nodded at his commanding officer before heading out of the door to the office. The old Marine had been right, Marlow was going back down the river. Thank God he'd drawn up a will this afternoon in case he didn't come back.

Webb hopped into Jim's jeep and the two of them headed off to Andrews. "Why do you always get me for these missions?" Jim shouted over the radio.

"Simple, you're old Corps. You represent the John Wayne, cowboy, shoot first, get the job done, no price too high Marine Corps that is needed. With the military undergoing what is in essence political castration, there aren't many officers like you left." Webb shouted back as the radio went into a Led Zeppelin back-to-back.

"I'm getting to old for these, Webb; I was twenty-three when I started these escapades. There's a big difference between back then and now." Jim pulled off the beltway toward Andrews.

"After what I saw in Syria, you've still got it, Colonel. A little wiser and less impulsive than you might have been but there's still the fire in your eyes." The jeep pulled on to the tarmac at Andrews and up near to the plane. Jim hopped out of the jeep and approached the figure in Army green that was walking toward the jeep.

"Jim Grant! It's been a while!" The man shouted.

"Sure has, Wes, how's life?" Jim smiled and shook the man's hand.

"Could be better; I trust Agent Webb brought you up to speed?" The two men headed up the steps and into the jet.

"Yeah, the Agency's screwing things up just like the old days." Jim took his seat.

"Sure is, nearly got a SEAL team killed too. Jim, if you can't get to them, estimates say they'll be dead in four days. Bourbon?" General Clark was standing over near the bar.

"Got any Scotch?" Jim replied with a tired smile.

"One twenty year-old single malt coming up." The General smiled as he poured the drink. "I've got to say Jim, I thought you'd have at least one star on your shoulder by now."

"Nah, I never learned how to play the political game Wes, my life has been doing things the way the old Corps taught them. I'm still from the school of breaking down a man and building a Marine in his place. That kind of thinking is hard to swallow for a lot of politicians." Jim grinned self-deprecatingly before taking a drink.

"See, it's that kind of gung-ho Marine I need on this one. I need you to rescue that SEAL team, that CIA operative and that weapons engineer." General Clark took the seat opposite Jim. He had a folder in his hand and laid it out on the little table between them. "Here's where they're being held. It's a small bunker in the middle of the bush."

"It's no less than fifteen miles from the Albanian border!" Jim retorted disbelievingly.

"Twenty two point three miles, actually. Read over the files for the members of your team Jim and get some sleep. I need a team leader who's well rested when we land in Naples." With that General Clark went up to the cockpit to talk with the pilot while Jim tried to position himself in the chair so that he could sleep.

MOSCOW, RUSSIA…

The day dawned on Russia, sadly not bringing with it any warmer weather. After making the call to Chegwidden all Harm and Mac were waiting on was word from Alexei about the shuttle to Buloika. "Open up, boss, is me!" The voice came from through the door. Harm walked over and opened it to let Alexei in. "I have most bad news for you, boss. The shuttle to Buloika is cancelled for this week."

"What? How did that happen?" Harm practically yelled.

"How things always happen, boss, orders from the top." Alexei pointed to the ceiling.

"So, what do we do now? There's got to be some way of getting there." Mac protested as she walked over to where Harm was pacing the floor.

"Mac, Buloika's 1300 miles from here, only a plane would get us there in the time needed." Harm responded as his pacing slowed.

"The only other plane is a MiG 29 and…" Alexei looked over at Harm who looked like he'd had a sudden realization. "Oh no, boss, no way, is not possible."

"Alexei, you told us that you work for the highest bidder, well how much am I going to have to bid for you to put me in the cockpit of that plane?" Harm's resolve was back in full force.

"I don't know, boss, I suppose, fifty thousand American?" The cab driver was scratching his head.

"I can get my hands on that Alexei but you're going to have to get me to the American embassy." Harm and Mac grabbed their coats and made ready to head for the embassy. "I'll call ahead and get everything set in motion."

NAPLES, ITALY

"Sir, we're making our approach into Naples, you need to wake up." The co-pilot came back and shook Jim out of his sleep.

"Thank you." Jim nodded at the man.

"Welcome back to the land of the living, Colonel. Were you hoping it was all just a dream?" General Clark was still sitting across from him.

"I gave up on wishing these missions were dreams fifteen years ago, Wes." Jim came back with a smile.

"Another Scotch?" General Clark offered him the glass.

"Breakfast of champions." Jim accepted the glass and gulped the stiff drink. "Where would the military be without rot-gut?" The two men shared a laugh.

"Stuck at Valley Forge." General Clark replied. The two men felt the plane slowly start to land and ease down the runway before coming to a complete stop. The door to the jet opened and the two men shook hands one last time.

"I guess this is where I get off." Jim said as he stepped toward the door.

"Make good on that Devil-dog name, Marine!" General Clark shouted as Jim stepped off the plane.

"Oohrah!" Jim shouted back as the door closed. He was walking across the tarmac when he saw a young female Marine headed toward him. She was about five-foot-six with cherry red hair and dangerous curves that her jungle cammies couldn't quite hide. He noticed a silver Lieutenant's bar on her shoulder and smiled.

"Sir! I'm Lieutenant Angela Harris." The young woman had a soothing voice.

"Colonel Jim…" She cut him off mid-introduction.

"Colonel Jim Grant, sir, I know. You served with my brother Mi…" His turn to cut her off.

"Lieutenant - likely Captain by now – Michael Harris. I served with him in Panama." Jim supplied with a smile as they turned and headed toward the barracks.

"Captain Michael Harris, yes sir! How did you know, sir?" The young woman had a puzzled look on her face.

"Only two things run in Marine Corps families, Lieutenant; Recon and red hair." Jim's voice was full of enthusiasm.

"When I told my brother I'd be serving with you he said you'd say something like that, sir." She replied with a wide, tooth-filled smile

"And what did he tell you to say in reply?" Jim inquired as he pulled his sunglasses from his pocket and placed them on his face.

"That you need to get some new lines, sir." She laughed. The girl had a lot of moxy; Jim had to admit that He quickly scanned her ring finger before deciding to banter back.

"Tell you what, Lieutenant; if I think of any new lines, I'll try them out on you." He smiled as they hopped into a jeep and headed for the interior of the base.

"It would be my pleasure, sir." Angela's voice carried a flirtatious air.

"It will if I have anything to say about it." Jim smiled and pulled a cigar out from his inside pocket and slid it between his teeth.

"It's a shame that you're my CO, sir." Angela sounded almost disappointed.

"Only for the next 96 hours, Lieutenant." Jim's voice was muffled by the cigar.

"Well, in that case." She leaned over and braced herself on his shoulder before closing her teeth around the end of the unlit cigar and taking it from him. "In Texas, the ladies get the first puff if they want it." She turned the cigar around and lit it.

"In Tennessee, we don't mess with Texas." Jim's jaw was agape as he saw her puff seductively on the cigar.

MOSCOW, RUSSIA…

"Mr. Rabb, I presume, Clayton Webb told me to be expecting you. He said that I should tell you that I cannot officially support you in anyway." The man, whom Harm could only assume was Webb's contact, got up from behind the desk.

"What else did Webb tell you?" Mac chimed in from her place standing behind Harm.

"That once that little warning failed, to provide you with every assistance possible." The man smiled.

"Well, I'm waiting for a man named Hugh Blackadder, he's got something for me and it should be all I need for the time being." Harm smiled and the man left the room leaving only Harm and Mac inside. "This sure has been one non-stop thrill-ride, huh, sweet thing?"

"You bet, flyboy." She slapped him playfully in the shoulder and took a seat in the chair behind the desk. "You realize, that a year ago we were just trying to get the feel for each other as friends?" She smiled in her reflection.

"Last night we were just trying to get the feel for each other to." He shot back with a smile.

"But that was more than friends." She replied with a coy smile. "I didn't think our first vacation together would include Russian espionage."

"I thought Naples was our first vacation together." He replied as he thought back to the weekend liberty he'd had while stationed aboard the TR.

"I didn't think any of our vacations together would include Russian espionage." Her lips were doing that cute thing he'd pointed out to her on one of their earlier investigations. "In fact, the only thing Russian I envisioned about them was a Siberian method for sharing body heat."

"Is that right?" He looked at her, his eyebrows at their inquisitive peak. A knock came at the door and Harm went to answer it.

"Mr. Rabb, I presume." The older gentleman said as he walked into the room.

"Why is everyone saying that today?" Harm and Mac shared a laugh as he saw the man put the briefcase he was carrying down on the desk. "You would be Mr. Blackadder?"

"That's quite correct. After conferring with Mr. Webb, I was able to procure any and all necessary funds." Blackadder opened the case to reveal a rather inordinate amount of money.

"Thank you." Harm said with a disbelieving huff.

"Don't mention it." The man replied before leaving the briefcase and taking his leave of Harm and Mac.

"Well, what do you say, sweet thing? Shall we buy ourselves a ride in a MiG?" He smiled and she groaned.

"You know this is going to make me airsick right?" She poked him in the ribs.

"I'll make it up to you." He offered.

"Dinner at Casa Dios when we get back to DC?" She smiled hopefully.

"And dancing." He added.

"Deal, flyboy." The two of them walked out of the room and through the embassy, finally meeting Alexei who was pacing next to his cab. The three of them piled into the car and Alexei once again returned to his duty of navigating the Moscow streets.

"Alexei, can you still wrangle us that MiG ride?" Harm asked with an almost devious expression on his face.

"You got the cash, boss?" Alexei looked in his rear-view mirror. Harm opened the briefcase and displayed the money that had been delivered to them at the embassy. Alexei than proceeded to steer them toward the nearest military base.

USS PATRICK HENRY

SOMEWHERE IN THE ADRIATIC…

Jim Grant stood before a team of five Recon Marines that were going to be his team for this op. They were below deck on the Henry, in the Marine barracks to be exact and it was the ideal place to give his pep-talk and familiarize with his team before they went into combat the next day. "My name, is Colonel James Tecumseh Grant! 26 years in this man's Marine Corps! I have medals for every campaign since the end of the Vietnam War and I assure you that I am not going to soft-glove you like any Academy grad COs that you may have had. This is my team and on my team, we play by the rules of the Old Corps!" Jim came to a halt before the junior most member of the team. "What are the rules of the old Corps, Corporal?"

"Leave No Man Behind! No retreat! No one lives forever! God, Country, Corps; sir!" The Corporal replied.

"Very good, Corporal. Now give me your name, rank and home-state!" Jim shouted in the young man's face.

"Corporal Andre Snider, sir. From the Buckeye state!" Corporal Snider replied.

"And how about you Corporal?" Jim moved to the next man in line.

"Corporal Pierre Dupree, sir. From the great state of Louisiana!" The young man replied with a very recognizable accent.

"A wild-eyed southern boy, good! What about you, Sergeant?" Jim's sardonic smile was growing. He looked every bit the image that one would expect after reading his file. He had his sunglasses on, a short cigar in his teeth and his jungle cammies.

"Sergeant Wayne Hill, sir! From good Ol' Miss!" The Sergeant was emphatic.

"Alright, we got two southerners, how about you, Gunny?" Jim stood back from the Gunnery Sergeant.

"Gunnery Sergeant Robert Edward Johnson, sir!" The man, who was only a few years younger than Jim replied.

"Let me guess, a Virginian?" Jim asked almost sarcastically. The Gunny merely nodded. "And finally our team X.O. Sound off, Lieutenant!"

"Lieutenant Angela Harris, sir! Don't mess with Texas!" Angela had a self-assured smile.

"God has granted me a team that is southern by his grace. I myself am from Tennessee. Now do we all know the plan for the extraction tomorrow?" Jim's view panned across the line and he got a chorus of 'Yes, sir!' "Good, from what I've been told, this team is supposed to be the best of the best that Force Recon has to offer. Gentlemen…" Jim heard the sound of Angela clearing her throat and corrected himself before continuing. "And Lady, your training will only help you in combat tomorrow, getting to and from the LZ will be pure survival instinct. Lucky for you, it will be my survival instinct. Stick with me and you will live. Deviate and I can guarantee that you will not. Your opponents are not called Death Squads for nothing, they are ruthless, they are vile and make no mistake, and they will kill you. Shoot to kill. We have to save some SEALs tomorrow, do not get in a pissing competition with them, get them on the chopper and get them the hell out of country."

"Sir, yes, sir!" The Recon team chorused as Jim took another panoramic look at them.

"Good, remember that you are Marine Corps Force Reconnaissance; the best of the best, bar none. SEALs are no match for you, Rangers run scared when you near and Air Force Commandos quake in their boots at the sound of your voice. Now, who are you?" Jim loved giving that speech.

"Recon, Oohrah!" The team shouted.

"That's better." Jim smiled smugly.

MOSCOW, RUSSIA…

Harm, Mac an Alexei were on the tarmac near a MiG 29 as they prepared to go for their 'ride'. The three of them walked up to the pilot who was standing next to his plane. "Alright, you have permission to go up; the plane is only a two-seater which means I can only take one of you at a time." The pilot tried to explain to them. He had not noticed that Mac had walked behind him but he sure took notice when he felt the barrel of a gun being pressed against the middle of his back

"Get rid of the Sergeant." Mac stated in Russian which meant that Harm was the only one unable to understand. The pilot told the Sergeant that he'd forgotten his maps in his locker and ordered the Sergeant off to go retrieve them.

"Good work, Mac." Harm stated encouragingly. Mac raised the butt of the handle of her pistol and struck the pilot on his head knocking him unconscious. She proceeded to climb up the ladder and into the RIO seat. Harm followed her up the ladder and took the pilot's chair.

Overcome by a sudden attack of conscience, Alexei scrambled up the ladder after them. "I cannot let you go, boss. They will be waiting for you. They know you are going to steal the plane." He explained frantically.

"Who, Alexei?" Harm's eyes were overcome with worry.

"The highest bidder." Alexei responded.

"Ready, Mac?" Harm checked over his shoulder. His obvious insistence to carry through with the mission brought a look of annoyance to Alexei's face as he climbed down from the plane.

"Ready as I'll ever be." Mac said as she secured herself into the seat. Harm lowered the canopy and got the plane ready to taxi down the runway. Soon enough they were in the air headed for Buloika.

"Mac, you're going to have to check for bogies while I see if I can get this radar working." Harm said as he tested buttons on the console. Mac took a few deep breaths as she started to gently swivel her head to check for other planes. Harm found himself finally able to get the radar working and when he did he saw two unfriendly aircraft closing in on his six. "Mac, we got company." Harm tried to manoeuvre the plane but soon discovered that a MiG 29 was not his beloved Tomcat. He started to hear a sound that could only mean that one of the bogies had a lock on him.

"Harm, does that mean what I think it means?" Mac's voice dripping with concern.

"I'm afraid so, missiles inbound." Harm executed a quick climb and ended up putting the sun in between the missiles and the MiG.

"How did you do that?" Mac let out a large breath.

"They're heatseekers and the sun got between us and them." Harm replied with a smile of relief before he heard the unfamiliar sound again…

MARINE UH1 HELICOPTER

500 FEET OVER KOSOVO…

"Well ladies, we're in country now!" Jim Grant looked out the door of the Huey and watched as night blanketed the Balkan forest below.


	20. Gypsy Eyes

SOMEWHERE IN THE RUSSIAN INTERIOR….

"Harm, does that sound mean what I think it means?" Mac's voice was full of alarm.

"It sure does, we're going to have to eject, put your mask on and hold on tight!" Harm put the plane into a dive to try and outrun the missiles a little longer before pulled the ejection lever and sending the canopy flying off the plane and sending the two of them into the air.

KOSOVO: TWENTY FIVE MILES FROM ALBANIAN BORDER….

The Recon team was inserted two miles from the bunker and was tasked with making their way through the dark of night to bunker without being detected. Night-time insertions through heavy boreal forest meant silence and speed were of the essence. Adrenaline coursed like a raging river through the Marine's veins as he led the team toward their mark

Night missions always carried with them a sort of grim reaper kind of feeling. One was moving swiftly through the night as though you were an angel of death and your sole task and purpose was to bring death and destruction to some pour souls. Boreal forest was much harder on the Marines than jungle could ever hope to be. Jungle meant regular rain which washed away any chances of being tracked. In a forest, you could have weeks of dry weather and your tracks would be visible to anyone who looked hard enough.

The team fanned out and made their way to the bunker in three groupings of two so that they could cover both flanks and the straight away. Jim and Angela were each leading a Corporal through the flanks of the bush while the Gunny and Sergeant Hill took the straight on approach.

The bunker came into view as a large concrete mass with an imposing steel door built as a structure that was meant to be contained entirely under the surface of the earth. The team crept up to the door. "You got the key, Corporal Dupree?" Jim whispered when he saw the young man produce some plastic explosive and a fuse. "Good, now, Gunny, you'll lead the team through this entrance and remember if it ain't in Marine green and it doesn't look like a captive, it dies. The Lieutenant and I have to go to our own entrance. Godspeed, gentlemen." Jim gave the Gunny a pat on the shoulder before he and Angela headed away from the door.

"Now, according to the Intel, the sky-light should be right about here." She knelt down and brushed away some leaves from the forest floor to reveal to panes of glass. Jim opened his pack to reveal the two harnesses that they were going to need for this part of the mission and they slipped them on over their cammies.

"You've got the glass cutters and the gloves right?" Jim looked over at her. She tossed him an annoyed look before producing the very equipment he had inquired about. She cut two holes, three and a half feet in diameter into the panes of glass and lifted the glass out of its place. "You're amazing, you know that?" He tossed her a smile and he got one in return, finding himself captivated that her teeth could glow the way that they did in the moonlight.

"Alright stud, just stick your grapple in that tree and fix the wire to your harness. We got us some SEALs to save." She smiled and shot her grappling hook into a nearby oak tree, Jim followed suit with his own wire and after testing it they made ready to lower themselves through the holes. Before they were about to enter, Angela reached over and grabbed Jim by the collar and pulled his face to hers and brought their lips together in a searing kiss one bourn more of adrenaline than passion or sexual tension. Angela licked her lips seductively afterward. "For good luck." She whispered.

"I'll take all of that luck I can get." Jim replied, the woman was fast taking his breath away.

FALLS CHURCH….

The news reports were coming in fast and thick over the ZNN wire. ZNN was reporting that two American military aviators went down after a joyride in a MiG, somewhere in the Russian interior. All action at JAG stopped to watch the reports as they came in over the TV in the bullpen. "It couldn't be them, could it, sir?" A very weary Bud Roberts looked up at Admiral Chegwidden who was watching the news with great interest.

"No, no, of course not, Lieutenant." To those who knew him it was clear that the Admiral hadn't believed his attempted reassurance of Lieutenant Roberts. The Admiral was torn between some kind of sorrow and a raging anger. ZNN was reporting that two of his closest friends were dead and no one was telling him anything. When he saw Secretary Nelson and Agent Webb come walking into JAG. "You two, my office, now!" Hell, he figured that if the direct approach for his buddy the Marine Colonel, his two stars would have an even greater effect.

The SECNAV and the CIA man practically sprinted to the Admiral's office with the ex-SEAL hot on their heels. Chegwidden slammed the door behind him as he entered the office. "The two of you have exactly five minutes to give me a complete explanation of what you know before I turn this office into a crime scene, now, hop to!"

"Their plane was intercepted by Russian MiGs and it went down in a lake. There's very little chance they survived and the Russians are, at this moment, combing that lake for their bodies. To be quite honest, Admiral, it could be months before they find them." Webb sounded so cold about the whole thing.

"I know there's something that you're not telling me, Webb. And I'm going with you to Russia to find out exactly what that is." The Admiral grabbed his cover and started to head for the door.

"Now hold on there, Admiral…" The SECNAV started but AJ cut him off.

"No offence intended, Mr. Secretary but there isn't a force in this world that's going to stop me from heading to Russia to ensure that Harm and Mac get home in one piece. Now, you can either get out of the way or I can go through you if you're in my way, now which is it going to be?" The Admiral's imposing form and red-faced dwarfed the politician.

"I'm going to tell you exactly what I told Rabb and Grant when they went after MacKenzie in Syria. Just, don't get yourself killed." The Admiral went storming out of the office and the Secretary tossed a disappointed look at Clayton Webb.

"What do you expect when you make an Admiral out of a SEAL?" Webb laughed sardonically before heading out of the room himself.

The Admiral walked through the bullpen and made a bee-line for Ensign Sims' desk. "Ensign, I know this may be a lot to ask of you but I was supposed to be taking care of David Grant while the Colonel is out on assignment but I have to leave the country for a few days, so, could you and the Lieutenant do it?" The Admiral was going for a kind of forceful delicacy in approaching the subject.

"Absolutely, Admiral, I'll pick him up after school and we'll take care of him until either you or the Colonel return." The Ensign nodded and Admiral Chegwidden sprinted out of the bullpen with Clayton Webb right behind him.

IN THE RUSSIAN TAIGA….

"I'll bet he's Russian." The man said.

"You're crazy, Pitcha, he's too handsome to be Russian." The woman replied. "Besides, think of what I could make from the parachute silk." The man drew his knife and prepared to cut away Harm's parachute and let him down from the tree he was hanging in. Harm's eyes widened when he saw the knife come toward him and he swung back in the tree to kick the man away from him before pulling the chord and releasing his parachute, sending him to the ground beneath him.

Mac was soon at Harm's side when he came to the ground and she was able to translate whatever it was that the woman was shouting at Harm after he had kicked the man. "She says her brother was trying to help you down from the tree and that you shouldn't have kicked him." Mac supplied and Harm nodded.

"Sorry, but my first instinct when someone comes toward me with a knife is to protect myself." Harm replied in English.

"You are not Russians." The man said as he recovered from Harm's kick.

"Americans." Harm replied.

"American spy pilots?" The man inquired.

"US Navy and Marines." Mac drew herself closer to Harm's side.

"Pity, American spy pilots carry gold coins for those who help them." The man stated as he gathered up Harm's parachute in his arms.

"We have hundred dollar bills, will that do?" Mac shot back as she unzipped a pocket on her flight suit to reveal the money stashed inside.

"I am Pitcha, this is my sister Rusza, and we will help you, where are you trying to go?" Pitcha asked.

"Buloika, is that far from here?" Harm seemed to be warming up to this help they were offering.

"A month's ride by wagon." Pitcha replied as he motioned for Harm and Mac to climb into the wagon.

"We don't have that kind of time, is there a faster route?" Mac asked as she and Harm climbed into the back of the wagon.

"We can take you to the train station at Perm and you can catch the train that runs from Moscow to Vladivostok. That should take a few days." Rusza looked back and saw Harm and Mac lying down in the back of the wagon. The sound of helicopter tore into the conversation and Harm could barely fix his eyes through an awkward opening at the front of the wagon. From what Harm could make out, Falcon or Sokol or whoever the hell he was, was looking for them. Harm could hear the sound of something being said over a megaphone or some kind of projection system built into the helicopter. Harm could tell that Sokol was addressing Pitcha and Rusza and he could only hold his breath and hope that the fair-weather alliance he'd made with the travellers held up against whatever Sokol was offering. When he saw Pitcha wave the helicopter off he took a deep breath and felt his heart kick-start again.

"We're going to be okay?" Mac asked her loving eyes full of hope.

"_We_ will always be okay, but we're going to get to live a little longer if that's what you're asking." The two of them exchanged a smile.

KOSOVO: TWENTY-TWO MILES FROM THE ALBANIAN BORDER….

"What have we got, Gunny?" Jim Grant's urgent voice brought the Marine team's focus to him.

"No one wounded, sir. Seven dead guards." The Gunny's reply was succinct.

"Lieutenant Harris and the rest of the team are with the SEALs, it's up to you and me to find the operative and that engineer." The two men worked their way through the cement hallways of the bunker. Jim picked up on voices coming from further in, toward the main control room on the second sub-level. "What were the chances this was going to be the only wooden door in the whole damn place?"

"Maybe it's your lucky day, sir?" The Gunny replied with a smile.

"Every day in the Corps is a lucky day, Gunny." Jim replied as he brought his boot down through the door. The sound of his Beretta finding its mark filled the room as the limp form of a guard fell to the floor. Dispensing with the remaining two guards, the two Marines walked over to the gagged and bound man in the corner. The Gunny untied the gag in the man's mouth to allow the man to identify himself.

"Vince Meyer, CIA." The man introduced himself.

"Colonel Jim Grant, USMC. Let's get you the hell out of here." Jim indicated for the Gunny to hoist the man over his shoulders. "Where's the engineer?" Jim asked as they left the main room.

"He's two doors down. I should warn you, Colonel, it's not pretty, they've been trying to torture information out of him for days." Meyer replied. "If your Gunnery Sergeant would just cut these binds on my arms and legs I could get myself out of here and you two could rescue him."

"I'm not some wet-behind-the-ears PFC, Meyer, until I'm sure who you are I'm not risking you turning on us. Gunny, only cut his feet, leave his hands tied together behind his back. Meyer, go and try and find the others, they should be making their exit." Jim ordered. The two Marines headed down the hall until they could hear anguished screams coming from when they got to the door Jim took out a grenade and dropped it in front of the door before taking a few steps and throwing himself to the floor and taking cover.

The door blew open and the Marines got to their feet as they saw two guards coming out to confront them. This time it was their M-16s inflicting the damage. Soon all that remained of the confrontation were the bullet-riddled bodies of the two guards. The two Marines barged into the room only to find a third guard standing with a straight-razor over a man who looked like he'd been cut close to a hundred times, there were strips of his skin that had been taken clean off. Jim drew his Beretta and rushed the last guard.

Jim jammed the barrel of his gun into the man's mouth breaking two of the guard's teeth as the gun pressed against the roof of his mouth. "Say hello to Satan." Jim pulled back on the trigger and ended the man's life right there on the spot.

"It never ceases to amaze me how rage can take over a man." The Gunny rushed over and unbound the engineer who was semi-conscious in the corner of the room. "He's alive, but just barely."

"Let's get him the hell out of here. You carry him and I'll cover your six." Jim and the Gunny rushed out of the chamber.

"You've been hanging out with pilots too long, Colonel. You're starting to pick up their lingo." The Gunny stated as he took off at a jog back toward the rendezvous point with the rest of the team.

MOSCOW, RUSSIA….

AJ Chegwidden climbed into a cab outside of Moscow International Airport. The Cab driver looked like some stereotype out of a Russian sitcom. "Where to, boss?" The driver asked.

"American embassy." The Admiral was focused only on one thing and that was getting Harm and Mac safely back to JAG.

"Oh you are American that is good, boss. Americans tip well. They are not like the British, French or Germans, for whom a tip is merely advice." The cab driver's comment caused the Admiral to laugh slightly.

"I don't tip." The Admiral replied without removing his eyes from their focal point outside of the car window.

"You are kidding, right, boss?" The cab driver asked as he pulled up to the front of the American embassy. The Admiral got out of the car and walked into the embassy after tossing a few bills into the front seat next to the cab driver. The Admiral stormed into the embassy with all the subtlety of a bull in a china shop and found himself eventually coming face to face with Webb and his contact.

"Alright, I want the truth and the whole truth this time." The Admiral demanded as he walked into the room.

"The truth is just what I told you in DC." Webb responded. The Admiral remembered seeing DePalma reporting on the incident before he left DC; he knew who he had to chase down if he wanted to get answers because trying to get anything out of the CIA was like getting a blind man's help to do a word-find. The Admiral went back downstairs and got into his cab to enlist the help of a reporter.

SOMWHERE IN THE RUSSIAN TAIGA….

The wagon had stopped to make camp for the night. Harm and Pitcha sat around the fire after getting Harm some new clothes to get him out of his flight-suit. "Our parents went to England after Stalin came to power. We returned here after the Soviet Union collapsed."

"Well, that explains why you can speak English." Harm looked over at his host.

"We can speak English, Russian and Romany." Pitcha replied with somewhat smug look.

"Ro –what?" Harm replied trying to understand.

"Romany, it means, 'the people'." Pitcha replied.

"In America, the Navajo Indians call themselves 'the People'." Harm looked almost wise as he gazed into the fire.

"Indians? Perhaps there is some connection?" Pitcha suggested as the two then proceeded to sit in silence. Mac and Rusza had been in the wagon trying to find something for Mac to wear instead of her flight suit. She was sure that the two of them had found something that would give Harm a whole new realm of fantasies for a good year.

"Tell your fortune, sailor?" Mac's voice carried a slight Russian accent. Harm's eyes widened when he saw what Mac was wearing.

"How much do I have to pay you to let her keep what she's wearing right now?" Harm turned to Rusza.

"Her lover likes?" Rusza smiled and she saw Mac smiling widely as well.

"Her lover likes very much." Harm replied still slightly awe-struck. Mac laughed at his comment. "What, what did I say?"

"Nothing, it's just, I've never heard you referred to as my lover before." She stated in between giggles. "It makes it sound like we're having this hot, torrid, love affair."

"Well, I don't know about the 'affair' part but the rest of it sounds incredibly true." He smiled and she took a seat in between his legs and leaned against his chest.

"How long have the two of you been lovers?" Rusza tried to sound like she was genuinely curious rather than intruding.

"Four months." Mac replied tiredly as she positioned herself against his body.

"And you are still very much in love?" Rusza's questions were almost entertaining.

"More with each passing day." Harm idly stroked Mac's hair as she slowly drifted into sleep.

"And you have not made her your wife?" Pitcha asked with his disbelief evident.

"Not yet." Harm could tell that Mac had drifted off to sleep and he decided it seemed like a good idea for him as well. He scooped her up in his arms and carried her over to the wagon. "Do we all just sleep in here?"

Pitcha nodded as he put out the fire.

MOSCOW, RUSSIA….

The Admiral could see DePalma standing in front of a gate at the airfield where the MiG with Harm and Mac was supposed to have taken off a few days earlier. "There he is."

"There who is, boss?" The cab driver asked.

"The man who stole my wife." The Admiral replied trying to keep the prying cabbie out of his business.

"You are not going to do something rash, are you, boss?" The cabbie looked worried about being an accessory to a crime. The Admiral laughed under his breath and walked over to DePalma. After the camera stopped rolling, the Admiral confronted the reporter in an attempt to get information.

"AJ Chegwidden, what can I do for you?" DePalma went to shake his hand.

"Don't try and shake my hand, I told my cabbie that you ran off with my wife." The Admiral said with his patented stoicism. The Admiral nodded over at the cab driver who was looking on at the scene with great interest.

"His name's Alexei. He's my next interview; he drove Rabb and MacKenzie around Moscow." DePalma informed Chegwidden who ran back to his cab. Alexei climbed into the driver's seat.

"Where to now, boss?" Alexei asked.

"Back to the embassy." Chegwidden said as though he'd been re-energized with a new vigour and determination.

KOSOVO: TWENTY-TWO MILES FROM THE ALBANIAN BORDER….

"We got everyone, Lieutenant?" Jim Grant hurried with the Gunny up to a point in the bush a few hundred yards from the bunker.

"A little worse for wear, Colonel, but everyone's here." Angela replied as she counted everyone off.

"Sergeant Hill, radio in and get that chopper to the LZ." Jim Grant tried to catch his breath, until he heard an alarm come from the bunker. "Tell them that the LZ is going to be hot, Sergeant." The leader of the rescued SEAL team walked over to Jim.

"I'm Lieutenant Carson, thanks for the help, Colonel, me and my SEALs appreciate it, now let us help you get us out of here." The two men shook hands.

"You got it, Lieutenant, I hope you picked up some AKs on your way out of the bunker." Jim got everyone ready to pull back to the LZ where hopefully the Helo would be waiting for them.

MOSCOW, RUSSIA….

Rear Admiral AJ Chegwidden was in full SEAL mode as he stormed into the American embassy. This time Clayton Webb wasn't getting away with giving any half answers and part truths. "Alright which one of you wants to be the first to tell me why my cab driver is being interviewed by ZNN for his knowledge of the story? Or perhaps you can tell me how it might be possible that he knows more than you do?"

"Listen, Admiral, I told you all I could." Clayton Webb started but the Admiral cut him off.

"But you didn't tell me all you know. Believe me, Mr. Webb, you're going to do that now or so help me God, I will break every bone in your face. As it is, you've already earned yourself a broken nose." The Admiral was red-faced and he looked like he was about to drop Webb on the spot.

"Alright, Admiral, there's a good chance they're alive. We have reason to believe that they're on their way to the train station at Perm." Webb was, for the first time since finding out that Harm and Mac went down, being honest.

RUSSIAN TAIGA, SOMWHERE NEAR PERM…

Rusza awoke from her sleep, it had been most troubling. The visions were back, they showed the American dying to protect her. There was an odd part of the dream though. Pitcha tried to stop the American from saving her. She knew that Pitcha would die to save her.

Pitcha awoke next to her, he could tell that something was troubling her. Rusza often had dreams while she slept, that was nothing new but it was rare that she was so withdrawn afterward. "You had a vision, didn't you?" He asked cautiously. She merely nodded at him.

Mac and Harm were awake soon after Pitcha and Rusza and they found the gypsy woman in a tirade. She was throwing things about and screaming at her brother in Romany. She was screaming at Harm and Mac to leave them in peace, to get out of camp. She ranted on and said things that neither Harm nor Mac could understand, something about soldiers coming to rape her. This of course, caused an immediate reaction from her brother.

"What's going on here?" Harm had eventually had enough of not understanding something that obviously had to do with them.

"My sister had a vision." Pitcha's honesty had earned him a glare from Rusza. "They deserve to know, Rusza." The man stated firmly. The gypsy woman sat firm before eventually relenting and divulging what was in her vision.

"In my vision, I was bathing in a stream when I heard a rustling in the bushes. I got dressed but I was soon attacked by Russian soldiers. You heard me screaming and you ran to protect me even though Pitcha tried to stop you…" She was cut off by her brother.

"I would die to protect you, Rusza, you know that!" There was an almost primal intensity to his voice.

"I know, Pitcha, I know. That's what was so strange. But he came to save me and he shot three of the soldiers, before the last one shot him." As Rusza finished her story, Harm could see Mac looked worriedly up at him.

"Well, can we get going now?" Harm stood next to the wagon.

"You don't believe her?" Pitcha's voice was marked with disbelief.

"I believe she had a dream and even if she didn't all we have to do is ensure that she stays away from the water, right?" Harm suggested. The other three moved toward the wagon and set off for the Perm train station.

KOSOVO: TWENTY MILES FROM THE ALBANIAN BORDER….

"Alright, looks like our ride's here!" The Gunny shouted over the propellers as the Huey came down to the ground. Bullets could be heard nearing them as they all started to climb on to the chopper.

"Get the engineer and the Agency man on there first, they're the most in need of medical attention than get the SEALs on next! We'll try and hold off whatever adversaries are headed our way!" Angela was taking charge which caused Jim to smile. As the SEALs were being loaded on to the Huey, a cry came from off in the bush. "That sounded like a woman!"

There was a pause in the loading of the helicopter as they waited and soon there came another cry. "And that was most definitely an infant." Jim added. "Gunny, Sergeant Hill, with me!" The three men headed away from the clearing and the LZ and over into a nearby cluster of trees. They came upon a sight that broke the Colonel's heart, a mother with a broken leg clinging desperately to a child that was evidently suffering from malnutrition; they were a common scene in war, the innocent bystanders that the media called 'refugees'. The fatherly part of him took over and he crept down to the banks of the stream where the woman was laying, crying out in pain. He scooped her and her child up in his arms and hurried back up from the bank of the stream, through the bush and into the clearing.

"We've got a female, early twenties with multiple contusions and abrasions along with a broken leg and an infant, no more than eighteen months, suffering severe malnutrition." Jim loaded them on to the Helo along with the Gunny and Sergeant Hill. Just as he was preparing to load himself into the Helo he could hear the gunfire and then he heard the woman scream again.

"Sacha!" She cried and reached for a little boy of no more than five who came running out of the brush just as Serbian soldiers started to come into view. Jim's paternal instinct kicked in once again, this boy wasn't Sacha or whoever he was to the young woman waiting in the Helo, this was David and this child needed saving. Jim kicked himself down off the Helo's runners and broke into a full gallop as he ran over to the child. He wrapped a protective arm around the young man as he scooped him off the ground.

Jim was almost to the Helo when he felt it. A bullet entered his right calf just below the knee. It didn't stop him; 'hell, Grandpa O'Grady's been hurt worse rolling cigarettes back home', Jim told himself as he made it to the Helo and loaded the young man aboard.

"Colonel! We'll be overweight if you get on, we're going to need to leave someone behind and come back later!" The pilot shouted.

"I'll stay! Never send anyone else to do what you won't do yourself!" Jim shouted and before the pilot could get the Helo off the ground, Angela Harris planted herself on the ground next to him. She motioned for the chopper to take off.

"When I say, 'leave no man behind', I mean it, sir!" She smiled at him and the two of them turned their M-16s on the oncoming soldiers.

PERM, RUSSIA….

The wagon pulled up to the Perm Train Station to scowls from the crowd. "What are they so upset about?" Harm asked Pitcha who was still steering the wagon.

"They think we are here to steal their women." Pitcha replied and the two men shared a laugh. At the back of the wagon, Rusza was filling Mac in on what to do when you 'told a fortune' for one of the people who approached them. The wagon came to a halt on the middle of the platform and Harm and Pitcha left to go and get the tickets for the train. There were Russian soldiers at the far end of the platform, fully armed and looking, less than pleasant.

"Are they always here or are they our welcoming party?" Harm's trepidation was showing very openly as they neared the ticket vendor in the proximity of the soldiers.

"Could be either." Pitcha replied as he picked up the tickets after Harm handed him the money. With the tickets in hand, the two men headed back to the back of the wagon where Mac and Rusza were reading palms.

"We've got the tickets!" Harm announced as Mac finished her last palm reading.

"What about when we get on the train, will they check for our papers?" Mac was starting to get apprehensive about the limits they might be pushing on this trip. "You're being driven by emotions and those emotions are going to get us killed."

"You can quit, I can't, my father is out there somewhere and I'm going to find him." Harm replied looking deeply into her eyes.

"Or die trying?" She inquired, hoping there was some limit to what he was doing.

"Or die trying, but you shouldn't, you've come farther with me than anyone I know, I'll never forget that and I will certainly never forget you." He sensed that maybe this would be the impasse that might tear them from one another. She brought her hand to the back of his head and pulled him in for a quick, passionate kiss.

"You'll never forget me because I'm coming with you." She stated as she looked at her stunned boyfriend.

"You know, I called Tom Boone before we left the hotel and I told him where we were, what we were doing and that you were with me." Harm smiled as they headed into the crowd.

"What did he say?" Mac inquired.

"That I ought to marry you." Harm replied as he placed his hand on the small of her back to guider her.

"That's the second time someone's talked about that with us." She looked back over her shoulder at him.

"It sounds like a better idea every time." Harm shot back leaving Mac with a surprised look on her face. The sound of gunfire came from behind them and the two of them took cover off of the platform and behind a packing crate.

"Sarah! Commander Rabb! I know you're here." The voice was the very familiar but hardly welcomed one of Major Sokol.

"Well, if it isn't your buddy Falcon." Harm whispered snidely and was promptly slapped upside the head. "Ouch, what was that for?"

"Behaving your shoe size instead of your age." Mac replied as they stopped bickering long enough to hear Sokol continue talking.

"I will take you to Buloika!" Sokol's voice shouted. Harm and Mac looked at each other wondering whether or not to believe him. They cautiously stepped out from behind the packing crate and started walking over toward Sokol.

MOSCOW, RUSSIA….

Clayton Webb, Admiral Chegwidden and Alexei all sat in a cab on the outside of a fence that bordered the airfield from which a now illustrious MiG had taken off days earlier. "Admiral, what we know is that someone, high up in the Russian military power structure is trying to sell of nuclear-tipped missiles to the highest bidder. Now we've been able to trace it back to a Major Nikolai. The problem is that Nikolai doesn't exist, but we know that's it's either Parlovsky or Sokol and which ever one it is, depends on whether or not Mac and Harm are on that incoming Helo."

"Care to explain that, Webb?" The Admiral inquired obviously still unused to CIA double-talk.

"Well, if Parlovsky is Nikolai, than Harm and Mac are safe and are coming in on that Helo with Sokol to meet him. If Sokol is Nikolai, Harm and Mac are lying dead in the Russian taiga." Webb stated rather bluntly.

"Webb, have I reminded you that I already owe you a broken nose for getting my people involved in this major Charlie-Foxtrot you've cooked up here." The Admiral looked through his binoculars at the incoming helicopter.

"Actually, you had, I was hoping you'd forgot." Webb ran a subconscious hand up the bridge of his nose. The Helo came down and landed and Sokol stepped off of it, toward a car that had pulled on to the tarmac moments before. "There's Sokol, where are Harm and Mac?" The Helo pulled back up off the ground to reveal Harm and Mac who had been standing on the opposite side of it.

"Right there." The Admiral said, caught in a calm before the storm moment. He saw Parlovsky draw a gun and all bets were off. The Admiral's foot stomped down on to Alexei's and sent the car through the fence. The sound of the raging automobile shifted Parlovsky's focus and opened him up for the Admiral to shoot. Parlovsky was able to bury a slug in Sokol's shoulder before four slugs were buried in him, sending him to the ground.

Harm rushed over to the old man, hoping that on his death-bed he might reveal the full truth about what he really knew about Harm's father. "Colonel, where is my father?" Harm's voice sounded as that of a desperate man asking one last favour. He knelt close to the old dying man hoping for something, anything that might aid him in his search and he heard only one word; 'Svischevo'.

KOSOVO: NINETEEN MILES FROM ALBANIAN BORDER….

"We made it through that one alright, Colonel." A very winded Lieutenant Angela Harris through herself down on the banks of a nearby stream next to Colonel Grant. "Here, let me try something." She pulled the sleeve off of his cammies and tied it around the part of the calf where the bullet had entered, ensuring to tie it tightly so that constant pressure was applied. "What do we do from here, sir?"

"Well, first; if we're going to wonder around some bush, you're going to give me first aid and I'm going to hit on you, I think you should call me Jim, Angie." Jim said with a smile as he tried to catch his breath. "We ditch everything that isn't edible or light-weight. We can't go back to the LZ because there will be scouts out looking for us, so we have to push on for a good twenty miles in that direction." Jim pointed off into the west.

"Albania?" Angela asked as she looked over at him.

"Yeah, we should be safe once we cross the border. We better make a camp for the night. Take the clips out of the M-16s and throw them into that current, it should take them a few miles downstream, which should be enough to throw our trail." Jim let out a heavy breath. "There's a small cave in the bank of the stream under that tree. Seems the ideal place to spend the night."

"Well it's no room at the Ritz, but I suppose I can let you get away with this for a first date." She smiled as he broke a few branches off a nearby pine tree to cover the opening to the cave.

"So, is that what this is? Our first date?" He smiled as she crawled into the cave and he finished draping the branches over the entrance.

"Only if I get a goodnight kiss." Angela responded as she gave a not so subtle pat to the cave floor next to her. Jim stepped back and took a breath. Sure, he'd done some dating in the last year but it was shallow, meaningless and none of the women held a candle to Angie. She was smart, beautiful, funny and a Marine but she was also twenty-six. Age was only supposed to be a number, sure, but at forty-one the numbers were getting awful high in his mind.

"I hope I remember how to share a sleeping space." Jim whispered under his breath before lowering himself next to her.

"See, I don't bite, unless I'm asked nicely." She smiled as she looked into his eyes. Those walls of his had been built up high in the last two years; she was trying to find the man behind them. They were a brilliant hazel and deep enough for her to get lost. They were hard from years of seeing combat but softened by the wisdom that age brought with it.

"How is it, you can be beautiful with camouflage paint on your face?" Jim smiled and his teeth shone in the moonlight that peeked in through the pine branches covering the cave entrance. She leaned up and captured his lips in a slow, soft kiss. This one, unlike the earlier one, was passionate. Her lips parted after a few seconds allowing his tongue the chance to explore her mouth. Her tongue gently yet nimbly, massaging his. They slowly, almost reluctantly broke apart. "That was…wow! They teach that at OCS now?"

"No, that was something I picked up on my own." She snuggled close into his chest. "Now, you can't take a girl out without ensuring that she stays warm for the night can you, soldier-boy?"

"No, I suppose that wouldn't be remarkably chivalrous of me." He closed his arms in around her and brought her in tight to him, her head fitting in to his neck under his chin. Here she was, a Marine, a trained soldier, the tomboy you grew up on a ranch in west Texas with eight brothers, falling in love, in the middle of a war-zone with a man whom she'd only known for four days. Life never was predictable in the Corps.

SVISCHEVO, RUSSIA

Harm and Mac stood on a point high in the steppes of the Urals looking out into the Russian taiga. The old woman had told him that his father had died in a valiant attempt to save her life. His quest of eighteen years had come to an end in a small town in the Russian interior; far away from La Jolla, California or Vietnam. Mac was at his side, her arms wrapped firmly around his rib cage and his arm around her shoulders.

"He'd be proud of you, you know that? You've accomplished a lot in your life and you never gave up hope." She looked every bit as sombre as he did as she tried to comfort him.

"There's only one thing he wouldn't have liked about what I've done. There was one thing I almost gave up." Harm responded as his eyes went from scanning the taiga to fixed on her. "I almost gave up you at the Perm Train Station, and I think if my dad wanted anything for me, it would be for me to be happy and I'm only happy with you, Sarah." He pressed a kiss into her hair. "Let's go home."


	21. Hope Beyond Hope

When the notification crossed AJ Chegwidden's desk on his first morning back from Russia, he couldn't believe it. Yet, when he read the paper that was attached to it, some sense started to be made of the situation. He knew he'd have to tell the staff, well maybe not the entire staff, but he knew five people he would definitely have to tell. Reluctantly, he pressed the button on the intercom and prepared to make the announcement. "Tiner, get Rabb, MacKenzie, the Roberts and yourself in here as fast as possible."

After what he'd just gone through with Rabb and MacKenzie in Russia he knew that they would take this worse than anyone else but the news had to be delivered and he was not one to shirk the responsibility of doing that. A little over a minute later, the door to the office opened wide and the five people he'd asked to join him stood before him. After putting them at ease he jumped right into it, deciding to start with the good news first.

"As I'm sure you're by now aware, Colonel Grant was called into the field last week to perform a task which required his special talents." At the conclusion of that remark, he saw smiles come to the faces of Harm and Mac.

"In his usual fashion, the Colonel felt it necessary to play the hero and as such, he was nominated by General Clark for the Medal of Honour. The Colonel and Force Recon X managed to rescue a trapped SEAL team, a CIA Agent and a weapons engineer who was defecting from Milosevic to hand over anti-aircraft sites. Not only did he and his team rescue the above persons, the Colonel himself personally braved enemy fire, even getting wounded to save the lives of three refugees two of whom were injured and would have succumbed to malnutrition and infection, had it not been for the Colonel." The Admiral took a breath and he looked up to see his people smiling.

"The Helo was overloaded and someone had to stay behind with the chance of getting picked up later. The Colonel volunteered and as of last night, he's officially MIA and presumed dead." He saw the faces of his people sink and he decided to continue only a little farther. "After doing what the Colonel requested of me before leaving, I'm granting you all a day's leave to come to terms with this." The Admiral reached into his desk and produced the will that had been drafted the previous week.

"I've been instructed to hand you all these letters. I informed the Colonel of this tradition of SEAL Team Two and he thought it would work well for us. His will stipulates that I'm to be the guardian of his son, something the two of us talked over for a good couple of hours and he wanted you to know that, he thought that little guy will need all of us to get through this. He knew it was a very real possibility when he took the mission but it doesn't make it any easier to accept." The Admiral stopped talking and he saw the people in front of him practically in tears. It amazed him how one man could touch so many people so deeply in only ten months. On the desk were six letters, one addressed to every one of them, they each stepped forward and took their letter.

"Now, you're all on leave until 0900 tomorrow. Rabb and MacKenzie, you'll do the Medal of Honour investigation for Colonel Grant. Dismissed." The Admiral took his letter off the desk and opened the envelope that had only two letters written on the front. "AJ". He unfolded the letter and read it.

_Hey Admiral!_

_Sorry, but you know what a horse's ass I am. It was nice to come into an office like this after all the other duty stations I've had lately. You people met me at one of the worst times in my life and you made me one of your own. You may never understand how eternally grateful I will be for that. A lot of the atmosphere of this office is due to you AJ, I know that you're the CO and you're not supposed to get too close to those under your command, but you're more than a CO to us, you're a father, brother, comrade and friend. You would go to the wall for us and we would go to the wall for you._

_AJ, I've entrusted you with care of David for a number of reasons. You're a good and honourable man and you would've given him the same kind of upbringing that I would have. You're a father and you know what it entails. Harm and Mac are young yet, they need to live lives of their own before responsibility saddles them too heavily. Bud and Harriet are Newlyweds and they need to enjoy that for a while first. You may turn my son into a Squid, but some Squids; you, Harm and Bud included are the best people I know and if he turns out as half the man that any of you are, I'll be happy with him. If he becomes a Squid, make him a SEAL, AJ. It's the kind of duty he'll live up to and the adventure he'll need if he's anything like me._

_Upon news of my MIA status or worse, news of my death, you're to inform Harold O'Grady of Berkley, Massachusetts and he will send you a bottle Jameson's Irish Whiskey from 1815. Drink a toast to me, AJ, that is all I ask. _

_Sincerely,_

_ Colonel James Tecumseh Grant_

The Admiral folded the letter and placed it back into the envelope. He'd spent a lot of years in this man's Navy, but that didn't make losing a comrade any easier; but then again, it was never supposed to be easy.

At his desk, Petty Officer Jason Tiner opened the envelope that was addressed with his first name. There were a lot of horror stories, in the military about senior officers condescending to the enlisted but that wasn't JAG HQ. Here, the senior officers were kind, understanding and almost familial.

_Jason,_

_You're a good man, Tiner. You'll make a fine officer. Enclosed in this envelope is a notarized recommendation, complete with my signature to put you into OCS. Use it whenever you want. You've been one hell of an uncle to my son in the time I've been stationed here. Please continue to be so, he loves playing that video game with you. Continue to keep everyone in line around here. _

_Sincerely, _

_Jim Grant_

Tiner pulled the OCS recommendation out of the envelope and tried to stifle tears. In less than a year, a senior officer had gotten to know him well enough to think of him as officer material and actually sign his name to a recommendation that would make him an officer. They were right, a few weeks back, when they had called each other a family.

1520 ZULU

HARM'S APARTMENT

NORTH OF UNION STATION

Harm and Mac walked in to the apartment without having said a word since the bombshell was dropped in the Admiral's office. They put their stuff down on the floor inside the door and tossed their covers onto the counter in the kitchen before taking their seats on the couch. "You want to open yours first or do you want me to open mine?" Harm asked as he held the envelope in his hand.

"Maybe you should open yours first. We could read them to each other; I mean, we're supposed to be here to comfort each other in times of crisis right?" Her tone was uncertain and her eyes full of unshed tears as they sat on the couch. Harm cracked the seal on the envelope and unfolded the piece of paper inside.

_Hey Pal,_

_Looks like I'm taking the big dirt nap, but look on the bright side, at least I get my chance to hit on Marilyn Monroe, right? Harm, in the last ten months you became one of my closest friends and for that I thank you. Never more had I needed a good friend and that's what you became. I wish you all the happiness and success that life can bring you. It's amazing how sentimental a man can get when he thinks about what he wants the last thing he says to his friends to be. I expect to see you in the CNO's chair in twenty years and I won't take 'no' for an answer, ha ha ha._

_David is going to need all of you if he's going to get through this. In the course of two years he will have lost two parents but he's a trooper and if you're strong for him he'll surprise you. _

_Harm, take care of Mac. I know you've only been dating for four months but I also know that you've loved her much longer. In this letter I'd like to enclose a little advice on what it takes to be a good husband. To be honest, there are only three words to sum up what it is and they are: Listen, Laugh and Love. Listen to her, communication is one of the most important parts of a relationship. If you hear and understand what she is telling you, you will avoid unnecessary fighting and you'll save yourself from some pain-inducing nights on the couch. Laugh with her, be happy and remember the happiest moments of your life. Marriage, well relationships in general, are supposed to be happy times in your life and only you have the power to make them that way. Love, the greatest and most powerful of all human emotions. No matter what you do in life, put love in the centre of it and you shall be successful._

_In my desk at work, there's the business card of a USO representative. She wanted the Duke Boys to record this year's USO Christmas album. Do it buddy, for all the servicemen and women who won't be home at Christmas. We still are under agreement for three more shows at McMurphy's, could you play "Walking in Memphis" one time, just for me?_

_Your Friend,_

_ Jim _

"I can't do it, Mac. I can't keep playing, every time I'll be up on stage I'll look over and expect to see that big, stupid Irish grin and those cheesy sunglasses. I don't know what I'm going to do, the first time I look over and they're not there." He collapsed into her chest and started to sob as she wrapped her arms around him to comfort him.

"Honey, it'll be okay." Those were the only words she could get out as tears threatened to overcome her as well. The two of them sat on the couch and cried together seeking comfort in a time of so much turmoil. Mac knew that this was the last thing that Harm needed, after discovering what really happened with his father and now losing a close friend it seemed that life was destined to tear those closest to the man she loved, away from him.

"Maybe, you should open your letter?" Harm swallowed the lump in his throat and curled himself up next to her.

_Hey Mac,_

_Never easy news to hear is it? We all know the risks when we take the job and so many of us take the job anyway. It doesn't seem like all that long ago that we first met. You were this confused and angry girl who was trying to come to terms with what life had dealt her and I was an upstart Marine trying to deal with a life in the Corps that demanded so much of me and even more of my family. Amazing what can happen in a decade huh?_

_Mac, the best advice I can give you is to not be ashamed of your past. You've been through a lot but don't focus on the negative, focus on the positive. You managed to survive conditions early in your life that would've driven lesser people insane. Do not hide your past but wear your survival of it as a badge of courage. You're a strong person, do not let things over which you have no control hinder you as you walk through life._

_Before I went on this mission, I had Harm added as David's Godfather and as you're well aware, you're his godmother, as such you two are going to play a central role in helping that little son of mine make it through this. Harm will be able to understand what's going on with him. That's a good man you've got there, Mac. Hold on to him and the two of you will be very happy in life and I would wish nothing less for you because God knows, the two of you have earned it. _

_I've given something of myself to everyone I left behind at JAG. I was trying to think of what I might be able to give you. To be honest, nothing sprang to mind right off until I considered this side project I've been working on since I got to HQ. In the black filing cabinet in my office, there are several red folders containing twenty-four thorough arguments for the mitigation of sentencing of Colonel Matthew O'Hara, USMC. It won't be enough to get Matt off the hook for the theft of the Declaration but it should be enough to bring the sentence down to five additional years after time already served. Not one of the arguments contests anything about Harm's competency as defence council which I never even considered to be anything less than perfect in what was a losing case. The court date for the hearing is two weeks to the day after I left for this mission._

_Semper Fi! _

_Jim Grant, USMC_

"That's great news, he's researched your uncle's case and he's created grounds to reduce the sentence!" Harm tried to sound enthusiastic but his previous sobs stifled his voice.

"I think my uncle would've preferred to have Jim alive, than get out early." Mac responded as she wiped her eyes.

"We don't know that he's dead, all we know is that he's presumed dead." Harm brought her in for a hug.

"Never lose faith do you?" Mac asked as she sniffled.

"Nope." Harm responded.

1530 ZULU

ROBERTS APARTMENT

ROSSLYN, VIRGINIA

"Bud, what are we going to do?" Harriet had cried in the car for most of the drive home.

"I don't know what we can do, Harriet." Bud stated as headed into the kitchen.

"Bud, isn't this affecting you at all? He was more than just your partner, Bud, he was your friend and you're not allowing yourself to grieve for him." Harriet protested.

"You heard the Admiral, he's only presumed dead. I know the Colonel, unless there's a body, he's alive, Harriet." Since being made Jim's partner, Bud knew the Colonel's survival instincts were strong.

"Honey, maybe you should at least open his letter, it might help you gain some perspective." Harriet suggested, obviously worried about her husband. Bud relented and pulled the envelope from his pocket. He opened it and began to read it.

_Hey Bud,_

_You know, in my ten months at JAG, you were the biggest surprise. In ten months I've seen you turn into one hell of a junior officer, you're a credit to the Navy. You've also been one hell of a friend, even if I can't get you to stop calling me 'sir'. Bud, you've started a family of your own and that is among the most noble and enriching enterprises known to man. From what I have witnessed, you will make a very good husband and eventually, a very good father. _

_Children are God's greatest gift. They are every bit as physically complex as adults but they are emotionally innocent. They bare none of the scars which haunt so many of us. My advice to you Bud, is that when you and Harriet have children, love them but allow them to live their lives. You are here to provide them with wisdom and guidance so that they might make the right decisions, not to make the decisions for them. _

_Give of yourself, if I have learned anything in my life, that is it. As such, my gift to you Lieutenant and what would simultaneously be my last act as a JAG was to file a request, with both my name and Admiral Chegwidden's for your accelerated promotion to the rank of full Lieutenant. _

_Jim_

Bud looked stunned, he knew that he and the Colonel were close but he never imagined that the Colonel thought well enough of him to recommend him for an accelerated promotion. Slowly, the emotions that he'd been pushing down, were creeping to the surface. Harriet noticed the quiver in his lower lip as he lowered himself down next to her and she took him into her arms.

On the way back to the apartment, Harriet had read the letter left for her. It was one simple sentence but it meant so much to her. _"Harriet, take good care of Bud."_ She hadn't had much contact with the Colonel but that one sentence seemed to say it all. Slowly she felt her husband reach out for her and start to grieve.

SOMEWHERE IN ALBANIA….

"That blood-soaked sleeve should throw them off, if they find it but I think by now at least we should be in Albania." Jim Grant through himself down on a hillside.

"We've been walking most of the day. It's 1715, I think that's time for a break." Angela smiled and through herself down on the hill next to him.

"You're not supposed to have a watch on you." Jim had a bewildered look on his face.

"I don't, it's this weird little thing I've been able to do in my head ever since I was a little girl. My daddy says it has something to do with being raised on a Texas ranch and just getting used to sun positions." She looked over at the exhausted man propped up on his elbows next to her.

"You've got to be kidding me, I know a female Marine back home who's got the same kind of gift. She can do it with Eastern, ZULU and local if she's out of town." Jim responded before realizing that he might have just opened himself up for questioning. "Yeah, I bet she's really causing that boyfriend of hers some trouble." He recovered.

"What's for dinner, soldier-boy?" She gave him an encouraging smack on the thigh.

"Well, I can hear a river not too far from here. So, if you'll give me a second I might be able to fix up something." Jim got up from his place and broke off the branch of a nearby tree. Taking out the bowie knife that he carried with him on this mission the fashioned a crude spear out of the branch. "Come see this, I'll show you a trick that an old Cherokee taught me back when I was a troublesome kid hiking through the Tennessee back woods." Angela practically jumped off the ground and ran over to see Jim wading into the river up to his knees.

She stifled a giggle as she watched him use the spear to draw patterns in the water. The woods were completely peaceful, there was no gunfire, there was just this rather comical scene of a Marine Colonel and his stick. Suddenly she saw the spear lunge and come up with a fish skewered on the pointed end. "Dinner a la wilderness." Jim called as he waded ashore.

He found a flat, wet rock on the river's edge and cleaned the fish and eventually he was able to produce two fillets that would be suitable sustenance for the night. "I don't suppose that you have a lighter?" He asked as he tossed the unusable parts of the fish back into the river.

Angela reached into her pocket and produced a small disposable lighter. "Always prepared, soldier-boy." She tore a sleeve off her uniform and gathered up some kindling for a fire. She piled the kindling around the uniform sleeve and lit the sleeve aflame. Jim washed off the spear and turned it into a spit to cook the fish over the fire.

"And this, my dear, is how you survive a night in the wilderness." Jim turned the spit and they watched as the fire fried the fish. "You know, I meant what I said during the mission. You really are amazing." It even sounded random when he said it in his head but still seemed like the right thing to say.

"Not bad yourself, soldier-boy. Saving refugees, walking miles upon miles with a bleeding wound and on top of it all, spearing fish for dinner." She looked across the fire at him. He'd gotten cleaned up at another stream earlier in the day. "Do you feel like Davy Crockett when you do this kind of thing?"

"What kind of thing?" If his statement had seemed random hers was certainly more so.

"Rescuing refugees, carrying on despite being shot, taking another person's life in your hands as you and she make your way through endless miles of Eastern European back country, using your survival skills to keep you and she alive and fed." She supplied as she curled up next to him.

"This is just how I was raised. While most of my friends watched Andy Griffith and Hogan's Heroes, I navigated the country around the Mississippi river." Jim wrapped an arm around her and she propped herself up against his chest.

"You're dangerous, you know that?" She whispered in his ear.

"Why's that?" He noticed how close her lips were, he felt her breath running through the rough stubble on his neck.

"Because a girl could fall for you before she knew what was happening." She replied as her lips inched even closer. Jim leaned down into her and their lips met. Each experience of this sensation was new and it had its differing effects. This time it was like slow jolt of electricity crept up Angela's spine as her fingers raked through the hair at the back of his head. When their lips parted they were both gasping for air.

"I think dinner's ready. Now that you're done with the appetizer, I mean." Jim smiled as he pulled the spear back from over the fire.

"If you're good, soldier-boy, you might even get dessert." Angela smiled coyly and ran her index finger down the bridge of his nose. The two of them ate dinner and passed the time by telling a few jokes. After finishing their dinner they got up to keep going.

"Now, that it's safe to assume, after three days of hiking, that we're in Albania, it's safe to follow this river, especially since it flows westward. I'd like to get as much walking in before 2300 as possible. That gives us…." She cut him off.

"Five hours, three minutes and thirty-seven seconds." Angela chimed in.

"Alright, let's get moving, then." The two of them set off along the side of the river toward a sun that was fast beginning to fade on the horizon. As the river began to run a little faster, Jim's mind told them that they had to be nearing some kind of agricultural land. As the night washed over the Albanian countryside salvation lingered in the distance in the form of an old barn. The two of them ran toward the barn and Jim used what strength he had left to pry open the barn door.

"Well, looks like we've got a camp for the night." Angela said as she threw herself down into a pile of loose hay that lay on the barn floor. "We should still huddle together tonight, you know, to conserve body heat." The two of them laughed as Jim collapsed on to the hay next to her.

"Have I been a good, soldier-boy?" Jim asked with a smile.

"I suppose, why?" She inquired as she turned herself toward him.

"As I recall, I was promised dessert, if I was good." Jim brought his hand up to brush her bangs back behind her ear.

"Well, let's see what the kitchen can cook up." She ran a hand up his chest and brought her lips down to his.

1610 ZULU

JAG HEADQUARTERS

FALLS CHURCH, VIRGINIA

2 DAYS AFTER THE M.I.A ANNOUNCEMENT

"Major MacKenzie, Lieutenant Roberts and Lieutenant Commander Rabb to see you, sir." Tiner's voice buzzed in over the intercom.

"Send them in, Tiner." The Admiral replied. Harm, Bud and Mac had spent the last two days on interviews for the Medal of Honour; Congressman Drexler had thrown his recommendation behind it and even the President was endorsing the recommendation. Mac, Harm and Bud walked into the office and came to attention in front of the Admiral's desk. "At ease, what have you got for me?"

"No shortage of witnesses, sir. All the members of Force Recon X can attest to the Colonel's action, all the members of the SEAL team can attest to watching the Colonel jump off the Helo and run headlong into enemy fire to rescue a little boy. The mother, who was also rescued by the Colonel, along with her sixteen month-old infant can attest to their rescue. But our best two witnesses are Gunnery Sergeant Johnson and Sergeant Hill." Mac was right on the ball, as usual, she had taken the lead in the investigation as well.

"Our recommendation is that Colonel Grant receive the Medal of Honour for his actions, sir." Harm added as they saw the Admiral take all in the information in with a small nod.

"There's only one problem with that, Commander, there's no one to present the medal to." The Admiral stated almost sarcastically.

"What do you mean, sir? I'm sure if you called Midshipman Grant, she would…" The Admiral silenced Mac's little tirade.

"I called Midshipman Grant. She said that she would not accept her father's medal while there was a chance that he was still alive. Jim has no brothers or sisters, both of his parents are dead, his wife died, there is quite literally no one to present the medal to." The Admiral got up from his chair.

"What about David, sir?" Harm inquired like a realization had dawned on him.

"You want the President to present the Congressional Medal of Honour to a seven year-old? You've come up with some wild ideas in your time, Rabb, but his has to top it." The Admiral looked out the window behind his desk.

"Think about it from the President's angle, sir. The young man's father committed acts to merit being awarded the highest honour possible for a soldier and may have given the ultimate sacrifice in doing so. David is a representation of that man and if he has a replica of the Marine dress uniform, the press will have a field day. That picture will be all over the papers and the President's approval rating will go through the roof. I don't think you'll have to convince the White House that it's a good idea." Harm's argument was thorough and rational but it didn't cover the issue that was most worrying the Admiral.

"What about the effect it will have on the kid, Rabb? Do you have any idea the hard time I had last night trying to explain the concept of Missing In Action to a seven year-old?" The Admiral paused for a second when he remembered who he was talking to. "Think about it, Harm, when your dad went down, would you have wanted to be standing up in front of the President, accepting a medal for the very mission that took your father from you?"

"Sir, if I may?" Bud started before the Admiral motioned for him to continue. "Well sir, in the letter Colonel Grant left me, he said that children were given to us to be guided and advised but that ultimately the decisions were supposed to be theirs. I think he would've wanted his son to make the decision, whether or not to accept the medal."

"That's very wise, Lieutenant but surely you would agree that there are times we have to act in the child's best interest." The Admiral shot back and saw Bud become hesitant to respond.

"Yes, sir, but this isn't going to cause the child any physical pain and surely the actual idea of his missing father would be more harmful than accepting a medal ever could be. If David wants to accept the medal, shouldn't we let him?" In that instant, flashes of the litigator Bud Roberts was to become, came through.

"I'll talk to him about it tonight. I know that he indeed does have a replica of the dress black uniform so that won't be a problem. On another topic, Major, when does the O'Hara sentencing appeal come before the MCA?" Admiral Chegwidden had been made aware of the appeal earlier that morning.

"Monday, sir." Mac replied with a smile on her face.

"Good, that will be all, you're dismissed." The Admiral sank back down into his chair. Tonight's talk was going to be interesting.

SOMEWHERE IN RURAL ALBANIA….

Jim awoke to the feeling that someone was kicking his foot. He looked up to see a very angry farmer standing over him. Trying to remember something from his winter of being chased through Eastern Europe by Parlovsky, he figured German might be his best bet for a language. "Ich heisse Colonel James Grant und wie heissen Sie?" I am Colonel James Grant and who are you?

"Sie sprechen Deutsch. Ich heisse Erik Rados." You speak German. I am Erik Rados

„Sprechen sie Englisch?"Do you speak English?

„ Ja, ich spreche Englisch." Erik replied

„Danke Gott! " Thank God! Jim smiled as he got up out of the hay. "My girlfriend and I got lost in the woods; can you take us to Tirana?"

"My English is, how you say, not good. But you wish to go to Tirana?" The older man asked with a caring tone in his voice.

"Yes, will you take us?" Jim shook the man's hand.

"Yes, of course, I will get my car." The man wondered off toward the farm house. Jim knelt down to stir Angie.

"What's going on, it's not time to walk again, is it?" She mumbled as she stirred out of sleep.

"No, I talked with the farmer, he's going to take us to Tirana." Jim smiled as her eyes brightened up. "Nice guy, speaks English and German." He helped her get up out of the hay. "A lot of farmers behind the old Iron Curtain, speak German because that's where they get their pesticides and farming supplies." Jim added so she'd understand.

"Why do you speak German?" She asked with an inquisitive tone.

"That's a story I'll save for when we're back in the States." Jim said as they headed toward the farm house. They saw the old man coming out of the house toward them. With clothes in his hands.

"My wife insists that you change before I take you. She does not want the car dirty. She also thinks that you want out of your uniforms." The man handed them the clothes and they went back to the barn to get changed. After getting their new duds on and making sure that they both still had their military IDs and any other necessities they ditched their uniforms in the barn.

"Looks like this little hiking and camping adventure of our is over huh, Angie?" Jim put his hand at the small of her back to guide her toward the car.

"Hey, I'd get lost in the woods with you anytime, soldier-boy." She responded and pressed a kiss to his cheek.

1510 ZULU

ARLINGTON NATIONAL CEMETERY

ARLINGTON, VIRGINIA

Alongside Admiral Chegwidden and the other Medal recipient for the day stood David Grant in a pressed replica of the Marine dress black uniform complete with the white cover. The media had jumped on this photo op and they were all simply waiting for it. The President had began his description of the actions which had earned Colonel Grant the Medal of Honour and than he knelt down to the child and pinned the medal around his neck.

David, having been coached by Harm on the protocol for receiving the medal, snapped to attention and saluted the President. That was the moment that Harm dubbed 'the minute of a thousand shutter-bugs' as every camera in the cemetery snapped a photo of a seven year-old David Grant, in uniform, with his father's medal around his neck, saluting the President of the United States who was knelt down to his height. The President returned the salute and closed the proceedings for the day.

In talking to David about the receiving the medal, AJ Chegwidden had learned that the orders of a two-star Admiral had nothing on the temper-tantrums of a seven year-old future Marine. David had demanded that his dad would want him to get the medal and that he wanted to get it to 'keep it safe for when Daddy came home'. That had been too much for the two-star to say no to. The child had such hope that his father was the superhero that he'd always heard the Marines were and AJ vowed that once David was old enough, he'd understand exactly how big of a hero his father was and what he'd done to earn the country's highest honour.

David ran toward Harm and Mac once the ceremony was over and attached himself to Harm's leg. "Did I do good. Uncle Harm? I saluted just like you told me, did you see?"

"I saw, buddy, you did great." Harm took the child by the hand.

"Do you think daddy, would be proud of me?" David's words had caused Harm to stop and lower himself to the child's height.

"You know what, buddy, I don't think we'll ever really be able to measure how proud of you, your daddy is." Harm smiled and it caused David to smile to. Harm scooped the little guy up and he walked alongside Mac toward the parking lot.

UNITED STATES EMBASSY

TIRANA, ALBANIA

When Clayton Webb first got the call he couldn't believe it. The JAG personnel were starting to become more hassle than they were worth. Admiral Chegwidden had broken his nose ten days earlier and now he had to travel out to Albania because the Marine Colonel that everyone believed dead was alive and kicking and sitting in an embassy in a country that he had no business being in.

Webb, opened the door to the main conference room at the embassy to see Colonel Jim Grant and Lieutenant Angela Harris sitting and calmly chatting and eating lunch with the Ambassador. "Colonel, Lieutenant, nice to see that you're alive. Especially since all the evidence suggested that you were dead."

"See, that's why I'm the lawyer and you're not, Clay. You'd always be misreading the evidence." Jim stuffed the hamburger into his face and smiled.

"In any case, I guess I had better call Falls Church and inform Chegwidden that you'll be returning after your wounds are treated and you're debriefed." Clay went to open his cellphone but Jim closed it.

"Don't call ahead, I've already got my entrance in mind and I'd like it to be a surprise." Jim and Angie exchanged smiled and Clayton Webb just looked on in confusion and annoyance.

0159 ZULU

MCMURPHY'S TAVERN

WASHINGTON, D.C

THE NEXT FRIDAY

Harm, Bud and Tiner took the stage for the first time since the news of Jim's disappearance, everyone from JAG was there because they knew how tough this was going to be for these boys especially. Harriet and the Admiral sat at a table, the Admiral had David perched on his knee. Mac sat on a stool at the bar. This week had been a good one, Jim's notes and arguments had allowed her to mitigate her Uncle Matt's sentence to only an additional five years after the two years already served.

The guys had the stage set up for the night. They had decided to set up the second microphone tonight in an homage to their fallen comrade. Harm had his acoustic guitar out and on his lap as he started to speak into the microphone. A man entered the bar at the back but he went largely unnoticed, he wore a black cowboy hat, a black golf shirt and blue jeans. Harm's voice claimed the microphone as he went to introduce the set.

"This song, is for a friend of ours, he's off fighting for freedom on a different front and uh he asked us to play this for him so here it is." Harm cleared his throat and Tiner counted them in. Bud's keyboard mastered the intro and Harm's guitar caught him as they lead into the vocals.

_Put on my blue suede shoes _

_And I boarded a plane_

_Touched down in the land of the delta blues_

_In the middle of the pouring rain_

_W.C. Handy, won't you look down over me_

_Yeah, I got a first class ticket_

_But I'm as blue as a boy can be_

_Then I'm walking in Memphis_

_Walking with my feet ten feet off of Beale_

_Walking in Memphis_

_But do I really feel the way I feel?_

The man in the cowboy hat began to weave his way through the crowd from the door and over toward the bar. He pulled up next to Mac, and looked down so that his face was hidden. Mac's attention had been drawn by the mysterious man next to her.

_Saw the ghost of Elvis_

_On Union avenue_

_Followed him up to the gates of Graceland_

_And I watched him walk right through_

_Now security they did not see him_

_They just hovered 'round his tomb_

_There's a pretty little thing _

_Waiting for the King_

_Down in the jungle room _

_When I was walking in Memphis_

_Walking with my feet ten feet off of Beale_

_Walking in Memphis _

_But do I really feel the way I feel?_

The man in the cowboy had drawn Harm's attention too. Being male and getting that close to Mac nowadays tended to draw Harm's attention and put your six in his crosshairs.

_They've got catfish on the table_

_They've got gospel in the air_

_Reverend Green be glad to see you_

_When you haven't got a prayer_

_But boy, you've got a prayer in Memphis_

The man in the cowboy hat raised his head to reveal a familiar face that automatically brought and overjoyed smile to Mac's face she wanted to scream or reach out and hug him. Jim just raised his finger to his lips and indicated for her to be quiet and act normal.

_Now Muriel plays piano_

_Every Friday at the Hollywood_

_And they brought me down to see her_

_And they asked me if I would –_

_Do a little number_

_And I sang with all my might_

_And she said – _

'_Tell me are you a Christian child?'_

_And I said –_

Jim whipped his hat off and turned to face the stage. _"Ma'am I am, tonight!"_ He sang at the top of his lungs and his appearance and participation brought the action in the bar to a stop as he went up and joined the band on stage. "Well, let's keep going, these people came to see a show." Harm and Jim joined together to do the last bit of the song.

_Now I'm walking in Memphis_

_Walking with my feet ten feet off of Beale_

_Walking in Memphis_

_But do I really feel the way I feel?_

_Walking in Memphis_

_Walking with my feet ten feet off of Beale_

_Walking in Memphis_

_But do I really feel the way I feel?_

_Put on my blue suede shoes and I boarded a plane_

_Touched down in the land of the Delta Blues_

_In the middle of the pouring rain_

_Touched down in the land of the Delta Blues_

_In the middle of the pouring rain_

As the song ended the band all left their instruments and walked over and wrapped their friend in a big group hug, happy to see him again. As the hug broke, Tiner ran to grab Jim's bass from the back room.

"Back from the dead, Jim?" Harm asked with a smile.

"I live in a realm of ghosts and legends, Harm. Sometimes it just gets hard to separate the two." Jim shot back with a smile as Tiner handed him his bass.


	22. July Nights

1820 ZULU

QUANTICO MARINES .VS. JAG TOMCATS BASEBALL GAME

QUANTICO, VIRGINIA

"Alright, the Admiral's batting cleanup this time around and Harm, you'll be in the third position." Jim supplied as the team gathered in the dugout before the game.

"Why don't I get to bat cleanup?" Harm was a little annoyed that they were playing in the championship game and he hadn't been in the cleanup spot all season.

"Because you got to pick the team name, this is retribution for you calling us the 'Tomcats'." Mac smacked him across the arm.

"It was either Tomcats, Squids, SEALs or Devil-dogs, what would you have picked?" Harm tried to look innocent.

"Devil-dogs!" Mac smacked him across the back of the head playfully with her baseball glove.

"Alright, we'll beat Harm up _after_ the game. For now, let's go out there and bring the championship back to JAG." The Admiral led the charge out on to the baseball diamond. Jim walked over to the bleachers where Angie was watching David. After the journey through the Albanian backwoods, Angie had been transferred to Marine counter-intelligence at the Pentagon and she and Jim had started dating since they'd gotten back to the States.

"You okay to look after him until the end of the game, Angie?" Jim asked as he walked backward on to the field.

"He's playing his Game Boy, I've got his snacks and I won't let him out of my sight. Now, go out and win a trophy, soldier-boy." Angie blew him a kiss as Jim turned and ran back on to the field.

The JAG team was the away team so they went do bat at the top of the inning with Mac, Mattoni and Harm leading off. Mac lined a double down the right field line and Mattoni struck out before Harm came up to the plate. The first pitch from the Quantico pitcher was a fastball that Harm drove over the centrefield fence and consequently putting JAG up by two. Both the Admiral and Jim managed to get on base but Carolyn Imes struck out and Harriet's line drive was caught by the Quantico shortstop, ending their first at-bat.

When the JAG team took to the field on defence, it was their ability to work the ball around the bases that ended Quantico's offensive hopes so quickly. Harm, Bud and Jim teamed up for a 4-6-3 double-play. The Admiral was a the top of his pitching game as he retired the next batter to send Quantico back on defence without having earned a single point.

By the bottom of the ninth, JAG was ahead 11-3 and the Quantico Marines, the seven-year defending champions in the league were about to go down hard. The last Quantico batter was to be the base CO, Brigadier General Warren. "No batter! Everyone move in!" Jim called humorously and it got some laughs from his team-mates.

"You might want to watch your tone, Colonel, remember I was once your CO." Warren called from the plate.

"All I remember about those five months was how your gas used to stink up the mess hall, General." Jim shouted back as he smacked the palm of his glove.

"You've got it coming, to you." The General replied.

"Yeah, but you ain't got it in you, sir." Harm called from shortstop. The Admiral laughed at the audacity of his two officers in taunting a flag officer. Tiner called for a curveball and the Admiral delivered, beaming a curveball past the General on the inside. "Stee-rike One!" Harm taunted with a smile.

"I'm going to put both of you on a report, if you keep this up!" The General was growing red-faced in his annoyance.

"Will that be before or after we take your trophy?" Mac called from third base with a maniacal smile. The General huffed before resuming his stance in the batter's box. Tiner called for a slider and the Admiral obliged once again making the General look like a flailing fool as he missed the pitch.

"Stee-rike Two!" Came Harm's taunting call from his place at shortstop.

"Admiral, can we just sit through the last pitch was already know what the end result will be?" Mac pleaded with sarcasm playing heavily upon her voice. The Admiral allowed himself another smile before looking for the sign for his next pitch. Tiner called for a fastball and the Admiral delivered the pitch.

This time the General connected and sent a drive out toward shortstop, the ball hit the ground and Harm dove for it, catching the ball with his bare palm. He scrambled to his feet and rifled the ball of to Bud who caught it and stepped on the bag at first base. The General was out and the JAG team were the champions of the Virginia/DC military baseball league. The pitcher's mound was swarmed by the nine members of the team and the Quantico team – rather graciously – brought the trophy out to the mound and presented it to the Admiral who hoisted it high above his head.

"Alright, you're all welcomed back to my house for a celebratory cook-out! The Colonel and I even spent all of yesterday afternoon setting up a bonfire pit in my backyard!" The Admiral announced to cheers from the entire JAG gang. The carpooling to the games was always interesting. Harm, Mac, Jim, Angie and David had all come in the jeep to every game. Bud, Harriet and Jason Tiner carpooled with the Admiral while Carolyn Imes carpooled with the Mattonis. The JAG gang broke up into the carpooling arrangement out in the parking lot.

Jim and Harm sat in the front while the ladies sat in the back on either side of David. What made this particular arrangement funny was that if the car just fell silent, for any reason, the ladies would tickle the little guy and the sound of his laughing would automatically jump-start the conversation. Jim tapped Harm's shoulder as they drove to McLean. "You want to know, how much those two women have in common? Put your hand over the clock in the console." Harm placed his hand over the green digital numbers and Jim smiled. "Hey Angie, what time is it?"

"1647 and thirteen seconds." Angie replied with a smile.

"You've got to be kidding me." Harm replied. "What is it with female Marines and the ability to do that?" Harm looked into the backseat to see Mac looking equally as surprised. "Well, was she right, sweet thing?"

"I had fourteen seconds, but I'd say it was close enough." Mac, despite a very maternal reluctance to like any of the women her friend dated, was starting to warm up to Angie; especially after seeing how good she was with David.

"We even got chocolate for smores for the campfire tonight because heaven forefend that any man should come between female Marines and chocolate." Jim added and he could hear the girls give each other a high-five in the backseat. The rest of the drive to McLean was occupied by trying desperately to sing along with the radio. This act lead to a rather badly butchered version of Dr. Hook and the Medicine Show's _Cover of the Rolling Stone_.

"How did you guys get a regular gig at a bar, if you sing like that along with the radio?" Angie had heard of the Duke Boys' gigs but she'd yet to sit in the audience for one.

"Well, in a bar, almost everyone is too drunk to care how good you are at singing, they're just happy to have some entertainment." Harm supplied as the window was rolled down and the breeze caught everyone's hair. The next song the DJ played was Bruce Springsteen's _Thunder Road_.

They were last ones to pull into the Admiral's driveway and they found everyone already in the backyard, the radio at a full blare and the Admiral standing over the grill. The five of them walked around back and as they came into the backyard Mac decided to announce their arrival. "The Marines have landed! And we have one aviator hostage!" Angie set David down on the ground and he ran right over to the Admiral who was mastering the grill.

"That kid always did like the smell of barbeque." Jim walked over to the picnic tables which had been placed end to end to create one long table.

"It's that Marine stomach; I swear they're like bottomless holes." Harm's comment earned him a smack on the arms from both Mac and Angie.

"Harriet, Carolyn and Jackie Mattoni are in the kitchen making the salad and punch and the other stuff why don't you gals go help them?" The Admiral suggested and Mac went with Angie up to the kitchen in the house.

"You sure it's a good idea to let all the women congregate, sir?" Alan Mattoni was hesitant about the idea as were Harm and Jim who both knew what congregating women meant.

"They were bound to do it anyway, right?" The Admiral replied while flipping a burger.

"Why are you guys so worried about all the women being together?" Bud questioned as he handed the Admiral the barbeque sauce.

"Bud, you're married, so I can tell you this. Three or more women in one area means one thing." Jim started and Mattoni, Harm and the Admiral joined him to inform Bud what that one thing was. "Gossip."

"Bud, they are in there gossiping and there's only one thing that they all have in common that they're going to gossip about." Harm explained and Bud looked confused.

"Sir, I'm sure they have better things to talk about than us." Bud replied and got a rather stern 'oh you are so naïve' kind of look from his superior officers.

"I bet you're wrong, Bud and I have a way to prove it." Harm challenged.

"I'm interested in how you're going to pull this one off, Harm." Jim laughed, it was getting so that he could sense another Rabb stunt.

"Here's how, we send in a spy." Harm started.

"Who are you, Webb? None of us can get close enough to that kitchen without disrupting that little bull session they're having." Mattoni inquired.

"None of us can, you're right, Mattoni. But David can." Harm smiled widely. "David, we've got your first Recon mission for you, think you can handle it, Marine?"

"Sure can, Uncle Harm." David was enthusiastic and smiling widely.

"You're going to use my son? I hope Webb doesn't hear about this, he'll want to use him next time he needs info on Castro's daycare program." Jim crossed his arms across his chest.

"Alright buddy, we need you to go into the kitchen and find out what the ladies are talking about. But you can't ask them what they're talking about and you can't tell them that we sent you in there okay, buddy?" Harm crouched down to the child's height.

"Alright, Uncle Harm." David was still smiling widely.

"Okay, now you can't say anything to any of the ladies and you remember how I told you to tell ladies apart from guys, right?" Harm finished his little explanation.

"Bazooms!" David pulled out the front of his shirt to indicate breasts. The young man's action caused laughter from the other men in the backyard.

"That's right, now go get them, buddy." Harm gave him a pat on the head and pointed him toward the kitchen. Jim and Mattoni walked up on either side of Harm.

"Bazooms, Harm?" Mattoni questioned.

"One day, he asked the difference between me and Mac and that was the simplest explanation I could think of." Harm replied trying to explain himself.

"I'm sure Mac will be pleased to hear that the first thing that comes to mind when you think of her, are her breasts." Jim gave Harm a pat on the back and stifled some laughter.

David Grant wandered into the hallway near the kitchen to see all the ladies standing around and they were doing exactly what Uncle Harm had told him they would be doing, they were talking. The women were, for their part, completely unaware of the child's presence on the other side of the door to the kitchen. "So Mac, what's Harm like, in the…well you know?" Carolyn Imes was the first voice that David heard.

"Well, let me put it this way, Harm is very, very thorough. One of the reasons that quickies don't work is that he insists that it's all about me so he well…did I mention he's thorough." Mac's shyness and description were enough for the women to understand and enough to confuse the child.

"Come on, Harriet, you look like you want to dish about something, what's on your mind?" Carolyn Imes once again was the one to initiate the questioning.

"Well it's just; Bud is capable of things in bed that you wouldn't know by looking at him." This comment drew more inquiry from the women and confusion in the mind of the young David Grant, as far as he knew the only thing you did in your bed, was sleep.

"Okay ladies, most surprising place you've ever done the deed and with who?" Jackie Mattoni brought the big bowl of salad over to the kitchen table.

"Harm's car, the parking lot at Beltway Burger, with Harm." Mac replied.

"Elevator at JAG, with Bud." Was Harriet's response. Her response caused more than just a few surprised looks. "It was after hours and we were the only two there."

"Alright, the haystack of an Albanian barn, with Jim." Angie replied with a wide smile as she saw all the other ladies anticipating the story. "I'll tell you later."

"The equipment locker of my high school gym with my high school sweetheart." Carolyn Imes replied with a smile.

"My kitchen table, with Alan." Jackie finished off the questioning as David dropped the cup that Uncle AJ had given him earlier in the evening. The sound attracted attention from the kitchen and Mac went to investigate. Upon exiting the kitchen, she found David standing over his cup with a guilty look on his face.

"David, were you spying?" She asked with a very matronly tone.

"No, I was Recon." The young man responded, his chin firmly fixed to his chest as his eyes gazed at the floor at his feet.

"And who was High Command?" Mac questioned.

"I can't tell you." David responded in a sad tone.

"Why can't you tell me?" Mac crouched down and smiled at David as she lifted his chin to look at her.

"Because you've got bazooms." David answered and Mac tried in vain to stifle the smile and giggles that threatened her composure.

"Well if you can't tell me, than I'll just have to introduce you to the four-handed tickle monster." Mac mock-threatened as the young man's eyes took on a look of fresh terror. "Angie, could you come here for a second? We have trapped ourselves a Recon Marine and he needs the special tickle torture."

Angie came jogging out of the kitchen to where Mac was crouched down in front of David. "Don't tickle monster me, pretty please? I'll tell you who told me." The young man protested.

"Okay, young man, who sent you on your Recon mission?" Angie questioned as she crouched down next to Mac.

"Uncle Harm." David sounded defeated as he lowered his chin again. Mac's face grew into a 'what is my boyfriend, twelve?' kind of look.

"Did your father have anything to do with this?" Angie asked as she put a finger under his chin to lift it again. David nodded his head. "Good boy, you did the right thing. Go back outside, we'll be out in a minute." Angie gave him a pat on the head and a big hug before pointing him toward the door.

David went running outside and saw the guys sitting on the picnic table waiting for him. He ran over and crawled up on to his father's knee. Before Jim or Harm could even ask questions about what he'd found out, David started talking. "Daddy, what's the deed?" David's expression was so innocent which made it even harder for Jim to try and formulate a neutral but truthful answer.

"It's a special thing, that only certain people do together. Why do you ask, son?" Jim was threatening to break out into laughter at the thought of what his son must have heard.

"Because Aunt Harriet said that she and Uncle Bud did it in the elevator at your work." This time the laughter at the information the young man revealed could not be contained. Jim, Harm, Mattoni and Tiner all bust a gut. Bud looked absolutely mortified and the Admiral looked shocked as hell.

"Slugger, did she really say that?" The Admiral bent over and looked the young man in the eye. David nodded and the Admiral stood back up. "Mr. Roberts, you are perhaps aware that there is a security camera in the elevator." Once again, Bud's face blanched.

"Nice going, Bud." Harm gave Bud a pat on the shoulder and the Admiral's face twisted into a small smile.

"From now on, Lieutenant, try and control yourself at the office and I'll pretend this never happened." The Admiral returned to his grilling duties.

"Auntie Mac said that she and Uncle Harm did it in his car at Beltway Burger." David supplied with the intent of making everyone laugh just like he had with the last piece of information he spilled.

"Really?" Mattoni encouraged the child and David nodded in the affirmative.

"Gives a whole new meaning to the term 'Big and Juicy', Commander." The Admiral added as he took the hot dogs off the grill and put them in a tray.

"David, tomorrow we're taking you out to Toys'R'us, you did really good, you understand, champ?" Jim gave his son a big hug. "See, Harm, I told you it wasn't a good idea to spy but you just had to push it."

"Well, I didn't think this was going to happen." Harm protested.

"Harm, lesson one about children is, never think things will go as planned, they're a living, breathing contingency." Jim leaned back against the picnic table.

The ladies came walking out of the house with the salads and the drinks and they set them down on the picnic table. "Harm, did you really teach our godson the word 'bazooms'?" Mac successfully hid the smile that threatened her features.

"I…didn't think I'd get caught." Harm smiled hoping it would melt her stern attitude.

"Are you twelve? You just couldn't sit out here and have intelligent conversation, you had to find out what we were talking about?" Mac stood over him as he sat on the bench attached to the picnic table.

"Lay off the boy, Mac. Bud didn't believe that you girls were in there talking about us and Harm was able to prove him wrong." Jim supplied as he reached for a pop.

"Hey, I know that you're not completely innocent either, soldier-boy. I know that you…" Jim grabbed Angie by the waist and pulled her in for a kiss to silence her. Soon all her annoyance was forgotten.

"Baby?" Jim asked as they parted.

"Yeah?" She practically whispered.

"This isn't important." Jim added as the two of them shared a laugh as Angie nodded with a big smile on her face.

"Yeah, besides, Mac you should have seen the look on Bud's face when David repeated that last bit about the elevator at JAG." Harm offered and that comment cracked Mac's false indignation and caused her to raise her hand to her mouth to stifle a laugh.

"Sir, I…." Harriet offered but the Admiral silenced her.

"I understand, when my ex-wife and I were newlyweds we were caught in the Ready Room of an aircraft carrier. Like I told your husband, just control yourselves from now on." The Admiral reassured her as he brought over the barbequed goods from the barbeque and set them down on the table.

The group sat around the table and ate what was prepared. Harm was limited to potato salad, macaroni salad, coleslaw and just regular garden salad while the carnivores dined on all that plus hamburgers, hot dogs and sausages. A few stories were shared. Harm and Mac filled everyone in on what went on during their trip to Russia. Jim and Angie filled everyone in on their trip through the Albanian countryside and the Bud and Harriet shared stories from their honeymoon.

After dinner, everyone helped the cleanup, including the child who had provided so much of the night's entertainment with his little 'Recon' assignment. Jim sat outside and got everything ready for that night's little campfire. He piled the kindling, he set up the seating around the fire pit, and he stretched out the coat hangers so that they had the instruments for roasting whatever they wanted to cook. He brought out the marshmallows, graham crackers and chocolate in case the female Marines –who would be sure to want them- wanted smores.

"Alright, everyone, the campfire's lit. You can hustle on out to it whenever you're ready." Jim poked his head in the door and called. Night had fallen on McLean, Virginia and a blanket of stars covered over their head. As everyone filed out of the house, Jim went and retrieved the little extra something that he'd brought over for tonight's campfire. He walked out of the house carrying an acoustic guitar and his grandfather's fiddle. "What's a good old American campfire without a sing along, right?"

"Do you have to incorporate music into everything?" Mattoni asked, he'd become a regular at McMurphy's for Duke Boys gigs.

"Well, when I used to go hiking as a kid, I used to bring along a harmonica for something to do before I feel asleep at night out in the woods. But this, this fiddle was brought over by my great-great-grandpa O'Grady when he emigrated after the potato famine. He came over with only his pride and this fiddle and the men in my family have been taught how to play it ever since." Jim smiled and chuckled to himself.

"So, what do you want to play?" Harm gave the body of the guitar a pat.

"Well, how about one for the youngster?" Angie suggested, indicating David who was seated firmly in her lap.

"Alright, Liberty Valance?" Harm questioned.

"Sounds good." Jim brought the bow up and began to draw it across the strings of the fiddle for the introduction to song and then Harm began to strum the guitar.

_When Liberty Valance rode to town, the women folk would hide, they'd hide_

_When Liberty Valance walked around, the men would step aside_

_Because the point of a gun was the only law that Liberty understood_

_When it came to shootin' straight and fast – he was mighty good_

Harm looked around the campfire to see everyone start smiling and he saw David particularly enjoying the song.

_From out of the east, a stranger came, a law book in his hand, a man_

_The kind of a man the west would need, to tame this troubled land_

_Because the point of a gun was the only law that Liberty understood_

_When the final showdown came at last, a law book was no good_

Jim chuckled as he proceeded to use the fiddle to add to the western feel of the song. The Admiral observed Mac and Angie closely as the two women watched the little performance, their expressions were those of two women very much in love.

_Many a man would face his gun and many a man would fall_

_The man who shot Liberty Valance, he shot Liberty Valance_

_He was the bravest of them all_

_Alone and afraid she prayed that he'd return, that fateful night, oh that night_

_When nothing she said, could keep her man from going out to fight_

_From the moment a girl gets to be full-grown, the very first thing she learns_

_When two men go out to face each other, only one returns_

Bud's arms wrapped around Harriet to pull her into him and Mattoni's arms did the same around his wife as everyone began to sway ever so slightly to the music

_Everyone heard two shots ring out, a shot made Liberty fall_

_The man who shot Liberty Valance, he shot Liberty Valance_

_He was the bravest of them all_

_The man who shot Liberty Valance, he shot Liberty Valance_

_He was the bravest of them all_

When the song ended, there was clapping around the campfire. "Daddy, you and Uncle Harm are really good!" David exclaimed from Angela's lap.

"Thanks, buddy, did you know that your daddy, me, Uncle Bud and Uncle Jay were asked to do a track on this year's USO Christmas CD?" Harm informed everyone else at the campfire along with the young man.

"Is that right?" The Admiral looked genuinely intrigued.

"Yeah, well, a USO rep came to one of our gigs at McMurphy's and thought we were really good. That, combined with our military background made us ideal for a group to record this year's CD." Jim explained and watched as smiled grown on the faces of Bud and Tiner especially but everyone else as well.

"That's great, you guys." Harriet added jubilantly.

"Well, we have to record the track next month, so we should probably decide what song we want to do." Harm admonished.

"Ah, we can decide that later, this is supposed to be a fun night, right?" Bud encouraged as everyone smiled.

"That's right!" Tiner smacked his open palm down on the picnic table.

"Well, then, let's have some fun. How about another story song; Devil Went Down to Georgia?" Harm asked his friend with the fiddle.

"Why don't you sit down in that chair right there and let me show you how it's done." Jim chuckled as he began to draw the bow across the strings again.

They did a few more songs around the campfire as their friends roasted marshmallows and smores and sang along if the occasion called for it. After an hour or so, David fell asleep in Angie's lap and everyone took that as an indication to pack it in for the night. Angie lifted David up in her arms and took him out to the jeep and strapped him in. Jim brought the instruments to the car and put them in the back with the baseball stuff.

Eventually, Harm and Mac were the only two people left in the backyard, together they silently reflected on the night's events and Mac looked up at Harm, she had her arms around his waist. She was cautious about saying what was on her mind, wanting it to come out right. "Almost makes you want one of your own, doesn't it?"

He knew what she meant and if he was being honest with himself, he was thinking the same thing. There were times when he thought of being a father more than he'd thought of actually proposing to Mac. It didn't matter which happened first in his life as long as it happened with her. "Only with you." He whispered as he held her close.

In that one moment, the world seemed to stop around them. This was the most they'd talked about their future in a long time but with his one three word sentiment, he'd managed to calm her fears that maybe she wasn't a part of his American dream. In truth, she was his dream. The only woman he could see himself with well into his future and the only woman he could see mothering his children.

"Let's go home and get you into bed, sailor." Mac smiled as she guided him out of the backyard.

"Best idea I've heard today." The two of them walked hand in hand out of the Admiral's backyard.


	23. Visitations

A/N: Thanks for the _Art of Seduction_ reviews. My collaborators and I are working on another, similar story, we're not sure whether it will be multiple chapters yet.

"Alright, ninja-girl, now you just move the stir-fry around the pan like this." Mac was standing in front of the stove and Harm was trying to teach her how to cook. Of course Harm's teaching style involved standing directly behind her with one arm around her waist and the other hand on top of hers, to 'guide' her. He started placing kisses behind her ear slowly working down to her neck.

"Harm! If you keep doing that, we'll never get dinner ready." Mac protested as she felt the hand on her stomach move up toward her breast.

"Right now, dinner as at the bottom of my priority list." He whispered huskily into her ear.

"Well, this is certainly an encouraging scene for a woman who wants grandchildren." A familiar voice said from what Harm could assume was near the door. His face immediately taking on a 'kid caught with a hand in the cookie jar' look, Harm returned his on hand to its place on Mac's stomach.

"Please, tell me that didn't just happen." Harm whispered into Mac's ear.

"Sounds to me like your mom caught you trying to cop a feel, sailor." She gave him a pat on the thigh as they turned around to face Trish Burnett who was not the only guest in the Rabb-MacKenzie apartment that fine August evening.

"Mom! Grams! Frank! Uh, what a surprise, I had no idea you were coming to visit." Harm said as he forced a smile.

"Obviously, not." Grams said indicating the position he and Mac had been caught in.

"Harmon, we wanted to surprise you, we haven't talked since you went to Russia and it's been even longer since we've seen you." Trish supplied in a matronly tone.

"I think, I'll just be going." Mac wasn't exactly dressed to meet her boyfriend's parents. She was wearing a pair of cut-off blue-jean shorts and a black spaghetti strap shirt that could have stood to be more conservative.

"Where are you going? You live here." Harm informed her as she walked toward the door.

"She what? Harmon, you not only have a girlfriend, she's moved in with you and you haven't told your mother?" Trish's voice took on a demanding tone. Mac had to stick around for this, there weren't too many times she had the chance to join in making Harm squirm.

"Harm, you haven't told your mother about us?" Mac was indignant as she placed her hands on her hips and stood next to Trish.

"Would you believe that I've been really, really busy and it slipped my mind?" Harm tried to offer in an attempt to save his six. Grams and Frank were watching the scene and trying to quell their laughter. "Alright, mom, this is Sarah. Sarah, this is my mother Trish Burnett." Harm made the introductions and the two women shook hands. "Sarah, this is my stepfather, Frank and my grandmother, Sarah Rabb."

Mac was pleased to meet the people about whom she heard so much. It was also nice to hear the name Sarah Rabb because this was the woman who'd helped Harm through one of the toughest times in his life after his ramp strike. "Mom, Sarah and I were just getting dinner ready, why don't you all go sit at the table and I'll have it out to you in a few minutes?" Harm suggested as he headed back over to the kitchen.

"Alright, sailor, I think this will probably go faster if you solo in the kitchen, so I'm going to talk with your mom, okay?" Mac put herself between Harm and the stove and put her index finger right on the tip of his nose. She leaned up to give him a quick peck on the cheek before heading over to the table.

"Harmon, how's Mac doing?" Grams called from the table.

"Ask her yourself, Grams, she's sitting at the table with you." Harm replied, knowing full well that his family knew Mac as 'Mac' and not as 'Sarah'. Harm's reply brought big smiles to the faces of Trish, Frank and Grams who had been well updated on Mac's adventures with Harm.

"So you're Mac, you know that you're all my Harmon has talked about for two years?" Trish smiled and scooted her chair over closer to Mac.

"Is that right?" Mac was now interested in what exactly Harm had told his mother about her.

"Oh, yes dear, every time Harmon calls me up at the farm it's 'Mac this' and 'Mac that'. Why, the boy sounded like he had a high school crush." Grams smiled wisely as she saw the young woman try to hide the blush that was rising in her cheeks.

"So, how long have you and Harm, been dating?" Frank asked from across the table.

"Well we started dating back in February; so six months, eleven days, seven hours and fifty-seven minutes." Mac could have given them the seconds too but she figured that might be a little too much.

"Yes, Harmon's told me about that little knack that you've got for time. Quite an impressive thing." Grams was a very warm woman and incredibly understanding for the position that she'd caught Mac and Harm in earlier in the kitchen.

"Thank you, but it hasn't helped make him on time for work." Mac added and got laughs from the other people at the table. Harm was walking over with dinner when he heard the laughing.

"What's so funny?" He commented as he started to distribute dinner to everyone's plate.

"Mac was just telling us how her gift for time still hasn't helped you get into work when you're supposed to." Trish supplied as Harm looked annoyed.

"Mac, I thought we talked about this?" Harm pleaded.

"We did but then I found out that we've been dating for six months and we're living together and you still hadn't told your mother about us." She shot him a coy smile.

"So, mom, how did you get into the apartment? I thought I'd locked the door." Harm questioned.

"Oh, well we ran into a very nice Marine downstairs and when we told him who we were, he chuckled and handed us the key." Trish raised a forkful of her son's stir-fry to her lips.

"Yeah, that's a friend of ours from work." Harm added as he took his seat next to Mac at the table.

"So, flyboy, when do you guys have to go to the studio to record that track for the USO Christmas album, tomorrow?" Mac looked over at her boyfriend who was relieved at the change of topic.

"1300, we've decided on _Snoopy's Christmas_, you know that old song about…" Mac cut him off.

"Only you, would think of dogfights and planes when someone asks you to record a Christmas song." Mac commented and gave him a quick peck on the cheek to show that she was kidding with her tone.

"You're recording a song for the USO?" Frank questioned as he finished off his dinner.

"Well, not just me. Back last November, a bunch of us at work formed a band and we play a regular gig on Friday nights. Well, a USO rep showed up at one of our gigs in May and liked what she heard, so she asked us to lay down a track for this year." Harm smiled and reached for Mac's hand on the table, a gesture that was lost on no one.

"Also, there's a novelty to having a band composed of sailors and Marines playing on a USO Christmas album, even if they are pretty good." Mac playfully elbowed him in the ribs.

"So, Harmon, when are you going to give your mother and I some grandchildren and great-grandchildren to spoil?" Sarah Rabb asked, trying to catch her grandson off guard. Harm nearly sprayed his water all over the table at the question.

"Grams! I uh…uh." For a lawyer, the ability to communicate seemed to have left Harmon Rabb at that instant.

"Give the boy a break, Sarah. He's finally found a nice girl, I think we can let him take his time." Frank recovered for his stepson.

"Thanks, Frank." Harm started breathing regularly again.

"Frank, when you're old like I am, time isn't something you've got a whole lot of. So, I guess I just want to see my grandson happy fast." Sarah Rabb chuckled.

"Nonsense Grams, you'll outlive us all." Harm smiled across the table at his grandmother.

"If that's the case, I'd like some great-grandchildren to keep me company." Gram smiled slyly and Mac tried very hard not to laugh at the look on Harm's face.

"You know, Harm, your grandmother might not be too far off base." Mac added and watched as Harm's eyes widened in terror. She was only playing with him but his reactions were worth it.

"What! Mac, I know that we talked about this but I thought we'd take things in the usual stages, you know, engagement, marriage that kind of thing." Harm's defensiveness in the face of what was obviously a rouse that the women had cooked up was causing Frank to laugh heartily.

"Alright, you three should be very ashamed of yourselves, I think you've given the poor boy shell-shock." Frank lectured with a humorous tone to his voice. "Harm, why don't you and I go out and get them some Ben & Jerry's, it should get you out of the line of fire for a little while, anyway."

"Sounds like a good idea, Frank." The two of them got up from the table and Harm grabbed his keys on the way out to the car. The two men walked out to the car in silence and got in. "Listen, Frank, I never got to thank you for supporting me when I called before going to Russia." Harm started. Russia had made him thankful for the people that were still around him.

"Harm, don't mention it, I was happy to support you in your search to find your father. I knew it was important to you and you've always been important to me so I knew that this was something you needed to do." Frank tried to explain without sounding like he was ranting.

"Thanks. Frank, I know that I've been well…a brat since we met, but you've done a lot for me, you've been there during some pretty tough times. I never gave you credit for sticking around when a lot of guys probably would have run off hollering into the night." Harm smiled somewhat self-deprecatingly.

"You're the closest thing to a son I've ever had, Harm. I wanted to see you happy and it didn't matter what it took to make you that way." Frank supplied almost as if he were trying to explain himself.

"I really am sorry for being a brat, friends?" Harm offered extending his hand.

"I think that would be good, yeah." Frank shook Harm's hand. Harm went into a nearby convenience store and picked up a few pints of Ben & Jerry's before getting back in his car and heading back to his apartment.

As Harm walked toward the door, he heard laughter and more voices inside than he remembered leaving at the apartment when he left on his ice cream run. Harm opened the door to find that Jim and Angie had joined his mother, Grams and Mac in the apartment and Jim was recounting the story of their trip to Syria to rescue Mac. "So then Mac says: 'So, Robin Hood did you and your Merry Men just decide to save Maid Marian or what's the deal with this crew?' And Harm replies by introducing Keeter as Friar Tuck, me as Little John and Webb as Will Scarlet." A wave of laughter passed over the attentive audience of ladies. "I'm telling you, it was classic."

"Jim? Are you trying to get me in trouble or something?" Harm joked as he put the ice cream down on the island and the ladies raided it.

"No, I just figured that your mom should hear how busy you've been keeping yourself. Don't worry, I didn't tell her about the infamous Beltway Burger parking lot rumour." Jim joked right and Harm's eyes widened.

"What Beltway Burger parking lot rumour?" Trish asked, her mouth full of ice cream.

"It's nothing, Mrs. Burnett, don't worry about it." Jim covered for his friend.

"Harmon, I still can't believe that you managed to survive being in the desert with this young rapscallion _and_ Jack Keeter." Grams and Trish were sharing a pint of ice cream, they decided that the younger women should each get their own pint.

"Yeah, well, Jim's better in combat than he is in a courtroom." Harm joshed his friend as he sat down on the couch.

"He's not bad in a haystack, either." Angie added with a smile.

"Angie!" Jim protested with a shocked look on his face.

"Oh, we're all adults here." Grams insisted in an attempt to put Jim at ease.

"It feels good that they're finally making fun of someone other than me." Harm laughed as he gave Jim a slap on the shoulder.

"Which reminds me, Harmon, how is it that you can fearlessly face terrorists but you can't propose to a nice girl like Mac?" Trish's maternal intervention mind was back in full gear.

"Mooooooooom." Harm whined. He was planning on proposing to Mac and soon; he just didn't like being pushed.

"I'm going to have to agree with your mom on this one, Harm." Angie and Mac were sitting on the far couch, smiling.

"I don't take orders from you, Captain." Harm reminded her of her newly obtained rank.

"No, but you do take orders from me, Commander." Jim looked up with a sly smile.

"You wouldn't." Harm challenged.

"Not yet, it's only been six months, just don't wait too much longer." Jim cautioned with a smile as Harm breathed a sigh of relief.

"I think we've tortured him enough tonight, Sarah." Trish relented as she saw her son go over to the fridge to get a bottled water.

"I think you're right, Trish." Grams shot a wise smile at her grandson who was coming back into the main living area.

"Harm, why doesn't your family come to the studio tomorrow? The USO rep said that we could have some visitors to watch the recording session." Jim suggested and it seemed to meet with approval from everyone.

"I don't know, we're supposed to be in the studio from 1300 until 1430 tomorrow, aren't those like 'prime shopping hours' or something." Harm's comment wasn't as well received.

"Flyboy, any time I have your credit card is a prime shopping hour." Mac's reply brought a smile to Trish's face.

"I like this girl." Trish put a hand on Mac's shoulder.

"Alright Trish, Sarah, I think we should probably head back to the hotel and turn in for the night, don't you think?" Frank suggested as he moved toward the door.

"Fine, by the way, we'd love to come to the recording studio tomorrow. What's the place called?" Trish asked as they followed Frank out.

"Libertyville Recording Studios. We start at 1300, so you might actually want to get there a little early, mom." Harm told her.

"Alright, I love you Harmon." She said as she walked out the door.

"Love you too, mom." Harm shouted as the door closed. Harm and Mac turned to their only two remaining guests who were cuddled up on the opposing couch.

"We brought a movie?" Angie suggested as the held up the tape.

"Put it in than, girl." Mac gave her friend a high-five. Angie slid the tape into the VCR and TV that Mac had convinced Harm to buy.

"What is it, Angie?" Harm asked, hoping that it wasn't some big Marine Corps movie.

"A Few Good Men." Angie replied as she curled up under Jim's arm.

"Oh great choice, Tom Cruise in a Navy uniform." Mac curled up to Harm who looked down at her with a disbelieving expression.

"Kevin Bacon in a Marine uniform." Angie tossed back.

"Even better." Mac replied and the two guys looked annoyed.

"Harm! Can you hear the movie over these hormones?" Jim shouted for effect.

"No way! Not with the way they're raging!" Harm shouted back and the two men laughed. Angie looked over at Mac with a 'they are so immature' kind of look and mouthed the word 'men' and Mac laughed.

About halfway through the movie, Mac and Harm were making out like teenagers and their moans were louder than the movie. Jim subtly reached over and smacked the back of Harm's head.

"Hey!" Harm protested.

"You're not a teenager." Jim pointed a scolding index finger in Harm's direction. Than went back to watch the movie when Harm, smacked him across the back of the head.

"You're not a chaperone." Harm smiled as his friend rubbed the back of his head. The two ladies were getting fed up with the immaturity and proceeded to smack both of the men on the chest.

"You're ruining the movie!" They protested and everyone laughed before returning their attentions to the film. After the movie ended, Jim and Angie said their goodbyes to Harm and Mac and left to go back downstairs.

Harm and Mac got ready for bed. It amazed Harm how Mac could look sexy in just about anything that she decided to wear to bed. "You know, I forget what this bed looks like at night without you in it." Harm stated as he threw himself down on the bed next to her.

"Not planning on getting rid of me, are you, sailor?" Mac smiled an turned toward him.

"Not if I can help it, sweet thing." They fell asleep in each other's arms.

1800 ZULU

LIBERTYVILLE STUDIOS

WASHINGTON, D.C

"I'm not sure if we can do this, I mean we've never done anything this high profile before, what if we screw up…there's just too much." Bud was silence by Jim's hand over his mouth.

"Lieutenant, what have I told you about pushing the warranty on your tongue?" Jim questioned and Bud calmed. "We'll be fine, we've practiced the song, and we know it. Just think Bud, we're joining the ranks of so many greats who've played on these albums before us. It's something you can tell your kids about." Jim assured his friend.

"Yeah and even if we screw up a few times, that's the beauty of the studio over our liver performances, we can do as many takes as needed to get it right." Harm gave Bud a pat on the shoulder.

"I don't know, sir. Maybe the Lieutenant is right, maybe this is just too much." Tiner was sitting on his stool behind the drum kit.

"Guys, we transposed the sheet music so that we could jazz up the guitar, bass and keyboard parts for this version, we've practiced the song and we all know how to play. I don't see the big problem." Harm looked at Bud and Tiner who still looked hesitant about the whole idea. Trish, Frank, Grams, Mac, Angie and Harriet all piled into the sound engineer's booth to watch the guys record.

The sound engineer flipped the switch to talk to the guys in the booth. "You know, if your band-mates are really worried, why don't you do a quick warm-up song, I'll lay it down on tape and play it back. This will only work if it's a song you guys know really well though."

"Well, what's that song that we normally play before our rehearsals?" Tiner asked.

"Oh yeah, Tommy Boyce and Bobby Hart, we can normally do that one pretty well." Jim supplied.

"Alright, _I Wonder What She's Doing Tonight_, on four." Harm declared as everyone took their places around the studio. Tiner clacked the drumsticks together to count them in. Jim and Harm both had to do vocals for this song that was the only tough part about it in rehearsal.

"One, two, three, four!" Tiner called and the instruments started in.

_If I had told her, that I loved her_

_She would have stay till who knows when_

_But I guess I couldn't understand it_

_When she said 'I want to be your friend'_

'_Cause a friend would never doubt you_

_Or ever, put you up tight_

_And now I wonder, What's she's doing tonight_

_Oh yes, I wonder, what she's doing tonight_

_Oh, I wonder what she's doing_

_Tonight!_

_We were so close but we should have been closer_

_And it's making me feel so sad_

_But I tell myself I didn't lose her_

_Because you can't lose a friend you never had_

_And a friend won't say it's over_

_And walk out just for spite _

_And now I wonder, what she's doing tonight_

Everyone in the booth smiled as they saw the guys thoroughly enjoying themselves in the booth, playing along to the song. Grams and Trish couldn't help but smile at seeing Harm look genuinely happy in the booth

_Oh yes, I wonder, what she's doing tonight_

_Oh, I wonder what she's doing _

_Tonight!_

The instruments broke off without vocals for a few seconds and the USO rep slinked into the sound engineer's booth to watch the warm up. Just as the instruments were about to lead back into the vocals Harm improvised. "Alright, Jimmy, let's go!" Harm said into the microphone

'_Cause a friend will always be there_

_If you're wrong or if you're right_

_And now I wonder, what she's doing tonight_

_Oh yes, I wonder, what she's doing tonight_

_Oh, I wonder what she's doing_

_Tonight!_

As the song ended, there was massive applause from the guests in the booth and the USO rep leaned in to talk to the sound engineer. "See, I told you these guys were good." She flipped open the intercom into the studio. "What was that?"

"A warm up." Harm replied with his signature smile.

" One hell of a warm up." The sound engineer muttered under his breath. "Would you guys like to hear it played back?" Bud and Tiner nodded in the affirmative out of the want to set their nerves at ease but Harm and Jim didn't need to hear it back, they knew that they'd nailed it. The sound engineer played the track back at them and even Harm and Jim couldn't believe how well their rendition of the song had gotten off.

Frank was standing in the boot and he saw how much Trish was enjoying listening to her son play his music. He pulled the USO rep aside. "How much for a copy of the tape of today's session for my wife? She really likes this."

"I'll work something out for you, you can get a copy for free since you're family with the band." She smiled and headed back over to the mixing boards. The engineer flipped open the channel into the studio one last time. "Alright guys, you ready to lay down _Snoopy's Christmas_ for us?"

The guys' rendition of _Snoopy's Christmas_ went off without a hitch. Harm had even found a way to use the whammy-bar on the guitar to simulate the sounds of a Sopwith-Camel going into a dive. After about four takes, they had the perfect version and when they heard it back, they all smiled, they had actually succeeded in cutting a track for a USO album. It wasn't something that any of them had in their career goals but it was a nice notch to have in your belt.

They cleared out of the studio and met up with their friends and family out in the reception area. "You guys were great, I don't think you've ever been quite that good, even at McMurphy's!" Mac smiled widely as she leapt into Harm's embrace.

"You performed wonderfully, Harmon. You all were so good." Trish smiled as the guys made their way over to them.

"That was something spectacular, I don't think I've heard those songs in the longest time and you guys were just able to bring them right back to life." Frank walked up and shook his stepson's hand firmly before Harm pulled him into an unexpected but welcome hug. The sight brought another smile to Trish's face, Harm seemed to have finally made his peace with Frank's place in her life. "What would everyone say to an early lunch?" Frank suggested.

"Frank, you're actually willing to feed three Marines? You're certainly braver than I thought." Harm's comment got laughs from everyone, even the Marines. Frank picked a nice little place on E street and the group dined al fresco for lunch around 1440. Harm was his typical, vegetarian self while everyone else had at least a little meat. Harm laughed when he heard Jim's order which was 'the biggest piece of red meat you got'. The waiter even examined the Marine to see if he had indeed been serious with his order.

Their orders had come back about twenty-five minutes later and the waiter had brought a fifteen ounce porterhouse steak out and placed in front of Jim. The waiter almost had a look of disgust on his face as he pulled the 'rare' tag out of the piece of meat. "How can you eat that?" Harm asked as he almost winced as Jim cut into the meat.

"This? This is just a morsel, I should take you out to the Grant homestead back home in Tennessee. My family has competitions to see who can eat the biggest piece of steak in under and hour and every Grant has lived to be over ninety. So don't give me that diatribe about your food making you live longer." Jim tossed him a wise, sarcastic smile.

"See, Harmon, now there's a boy with a healthy appetite." Sarah Rabb teased her grandson.

"Mrs. Rabb, it's not the amount he eats cause I've seen this boy haul off and bury some pretty impressive amounts of salad. We just have to concentrate that hunger toward actual food like Bacon, steak and pork chops." Everyone at the table shared a laugh at Jim's comment.

"I think there are some things that even the Marines can't pull off, Colonel." Harm added.

"Hey, Truman once said the only propaganda machine that could rival Stalin was that of the USMC." Angie added since Jim had a mouthful of steak.

"You mean Uncle Sam's Misguided Children?" Harm retorted before Mac playfully slapped his arm.

"Hey, you're dating one of those misguided children." She tossed at him playfully.

"And loving every minute." Harm replied and the two of them gave each other an Eskimo kiss.

"I think I just lost my appetite." Tiner commented and everyone laughed.

After lunch, Bud, Harriet and Tiner broke away from the group and headed for their respective homes. This left only the people who were headed to the apartment building North of Union Station. "Angie, are you sure the Admiral didn't mind babysitting David today?" Jim cautiously asked his girlfriend.

"He seemed really enthused about the idea. I think he likes hanging out with the little guy. Maybe there's an inner child inside the rough and gruff SEAL." Angie suggested and the thought itself created a wave of laughs among those who knew Admiral Chegwidden. Jim invited everyone in for some 'Good Ol' Tennessee Apple Cider' when they got back to apartment.

Jim opened the door to the apartment to find the Admiral and David watching 'That Thing You Do' and using the brooms as guitars while dawning cheesy sunglasses. Their reverie came to a halt when they saw that they had been caught by the people entering the apartment. "Colonel." The Admiral nodded trying to contain his embarrassment.

"Admiral, should I ask or do I just assume that you and my son were playing 'rock star', sir?" Jim along with Harm, Mac and Angie were all trying to keep a straight face.

"Colonel, I think it goes without saying that this doesn't need to be brought up?" The Admiral sort of ordered in question format.

"Understood, sir." Jim said with a smile and walked into his kitchen to start making the drinks for everyone.

"Hey, Grams, can I go talk to you in the hallway for a second?" Harm tugged on his grandmother's sleeve. The two of them walked out into the hallway and made sure the door closed behind them. "Grams, did you bring it?" Harm asked with a smile.

"I sure did, I don't think that little woman of yours will suspect a thing, not after that display we put on last night." Grams said as she pulled the velvet box out of her pocket.

"I really have to thank Jim too, he helped me put the whole scheme together. I didn't expect him to get you guys here so early though. I thought you'd interrupt me serving dinner, not making dinner." Harm smiled and opened the box to examine the ring.

"Yeah, well we didn't exactly expect to catch you in the act young man, but she's a keeper. Never forget, your mother and I were serious about those grandchildren." Sarah Rabb smiled wisely at her grandson who seemed as though he'd finally found all that was going to make him happy in life.

"I know, Grams, I know and there's no one I'd rather have as their mother." Harm slipped the box into his pocket as the two of them walked back into the apartment. Sarah Rabb had never been happier for her grandson than she was at that moment. She was so proud of the man that he'd become and she knew that the only people as proud as she was, were looking down on him right then. And she knew that they were smiling just as widely as she was.


	24. Embassy

August rolled into September and the routine at JAG was barely phased by the rollover into fall. David went back to school and his dad celebrated one year at JAG Headquarters, certainly longer than the one month he was originally assigned to be here. What made the last three months since the respective returns from Eastern Europe particularly enjoyable was that Clayton Webb was nowhere to be found. Something Harm and Jim referred to quite often. Harm even had a calendar in his office where they days marked off with a big red 'W' were Webbless Days. They both wondered if it had something to do with the Admiral breaking his nose.

On one particular day, the Admiral was sitting in his office with the TV on, well-knowing that he was about to do something to disgruntle much of his senior staff. "Tiner, get me Rabb, MacKenzie and Grant." The Admiral took his finger off the intercom button and brought it back down on to the desk. Colonel Grant was the first through the Admiral's door and when he saw Clayton Webb, he stopped in his tracks. "Oh Christ! Harm, did you mark off today, yet?" Jim shouted back out the door.

"No, I normally do that after lunch." Harm walked up to the door and saw Webb. "So, the streak ends at 71 days, damn! We were so close." The two men shared laughs as Mac came up to join them in the doorway.

"Let me guess, Webb's here." Mac stated plainly and saw Harm and Jim nod as they then proceeded to enter the Admiral's office. They came to attention in front of the Admiral's desk and were put at ease.

"You all know Agent Webb." The Admiral said as he returned to his chair.

"Sadly." Harm added and got smiles from his colleagues.

"In any case, I'm just here to remind you that Agent Webb's missions are completely voluntary. Nothing will happen to you if you turn it down." After that the Admiral leaned back in his chair.

"I'm sure you're all familiar with the recent riots in the Sudan over who's going to be elected in their upcoming Presidential election. The frontrunners are a hard-liner, General Denali…" Webb held up a picture of the General. "And a moderate, Ambassador Moshak." Webb produced yet another picture. "Moshak, if elected is prepared to negotiate placing a US Navy base on the Sudanese coast."

"Three guesses who we're cheering for." Harm commented and once again he got a laugh from everyone but Webb.

"This brings us to the topic of Professor Dubotu. He's a poet who many in the Sudan believe speaks for the voice of the people. His endorsement of a candidate will sway the election. Yesterday, the Professor was kidnapped, likely by one of the candidates, though we don't know who." Webb stopped right there.

"And you want us to find out." Mac supplied and she knew that her friends were thinking the exact same thing.

"Your assignment, is to download information off of the computer in the Ambassador's office which may be pertinent to a number of issues including the abduction of Dubotu and his position on the possibility of the American Naval Base. There's a ball at the Sudanese embassy tonight, Commander Rabb and Colonel Grant are both on the guest list because of their personal histories with Ambassador Moshak." Webb informed everyone in the room and got questioning glances from the Admiral and Mac.

"I gave him a ride in a Tomcat back when I was still flying." Harm supplied.

"My actions in Somalia and Liberia made my career a target of his interest after Mogadishu." Jim informed everyone in the room.

"Knowing the insult it is to turn down the invitation of an Ambassador to this type of function, I guess this means that you two are in?" Webb questioned looking down at two very annoyed military lawyers.

"Well, ninja-girl, what do you say to a ball?" Harm turned toward Mac.

"I don't have a dress." Mac replied trying to recover.

"Not a problem, I took the liberty of picking something out, it will be delivered to your apartment." Webb supplied.

"That's very thoughtful; Webb, but you don't know my measurements." Mac smiled falsely trying not to angry at his presumptive behaviour.

"36-24-36." Webb stated in a matter-of fact manner and watched as Harm and Jim suppressed smiles.

"Webb, I'd run if I were you. It's one thing to release any woman's measurements but doing that for a female Marine may get you killed." Jim commented and Webb caught the scowl that crossed Mac's face.

"Before I go, Colonel. I informed Captain Harris of this assignment and she seemed most pleased with the idea. So, there's no need to call her." Clayton Webb sounded almost smug. Webb turned and left the room and Jim sat there with a look of terror on his face.

"What's wrong, Colonel?" The Admiral inquired, evidently worried.

"Angie knows she's going to a ball tonight, which means she's going to go shopping for a dress today." Jim supplied.

"I fail to see how that's a problem, Jim." Harm commented.

"The problem is, I left my credit card at home this morning." Jim stated and his comment got laughs from both Harm and the Admiral who knew what that meant. "You get a dress the CIA paid for and I get a dent in my credit card, you always were the lucky one, Harm." Jim laughed as they got up to be dismissed.

"I'm giving the three of you the day to go home and prepare for this. I know this is a Webb op, so I'm going to reiterate advice that's been heard a lot in this office over the last year. Just, don't get yourselves killed." The Admiral warned as he saw his three officers exchange looks.

"If you think about it, sir. With what we've done in the last year, this should be a walk in the park." Jim commented with a smile.

"Let's hope it stays that way. You're dismissed." The Admiral stood up and walked over the window. He was beginning to wonder why he let Clayton Webb passed security, maybe next time he'd just tell them to shoot him.

The three officers made their way out into the bullpen, Mac broke away to head to her office and Harm and Jim went to Harm's office. "I guess this puts a damper on the big proposal plan, huh?" Jim asked as he sat opposite Harm.

"Not necessarily, you think you could switch the reservation for a later time?" Harm inquired, he'd been carrying that little velvet box everywhere for the last month.

"Not a problem, the Maitre'd at Emerson's is ex-Recon, I'll have the reservation pushed back to a late dinner, say 2330? Even if the embassy blows up, we should be out by then." Jim commented as he got up to leave the office.

"Don't joke, with our luck something like that might just happen." Harm called after him as Jim went over toward his office.

1930 ZULU

HARM & MAC'S APARTMENT

NORTH OF UNION STATION

"What time is Webb coming in the limo to pick us up?" Mac called from the bathroom.

"Shouldn't I be asking you that question?" Harm responded from the kitchen.

"You know that after one of _those_ showers my clock haywires for a few minutes." She shot back, knowing that even mentioning that fact was great for his ego.

"I guess, I keep forgetting." He lied, he'd forget a lot of things in his life, what it was like to be with Sarah MacKenzie was not one of them.

"Yeah, I'll bet you do." She walked into the bedroom, grabbed a pillow and tossed it at him.

"What does the dress that Webb sent over, look like?" Harm asked as she walked into the kitchen.

"I think he wants you and every other man in the embassy staring at my breasts all night." She stated plainly but laughed as Harm picked her up by the waist and placed her on the counter in the seated position.

"Well, I was planning to do that any way." Harm laughed and Mac took on a look of mock offence. "Come on, Sarah, you know that you'd be the most beautiful woman at this thing even if you wore coveralls." He put himself in between her legs as she sat on the counter.

"I know, a girl just likes to hear it once in a while, you know?" She smiled as he wrapped his arms around her waist. Their foreheads touched as they just stood there looking into one another's eyes. "I'm in love with you, you know that?" She smiled widely.

"I'm in love with you, too." He whispered and brought their lips together in a quick kiss. "I also know that my Marine has an appetite, so I figured that a quick Chicken Penne was in order. Something light, before we head out to the ball tonight." She slid down off the counter and walked toward the bedroom.

"I suppose, I should change into something comfortable for dinner." She stated as she walked over to the bedroom.

"You mean you're not going to wear the towel to dinner." He pointed, indicating the towel that she still had wrapped around her body.

"Only if you wear yours, sailor." She smiled back.

"I'm willing to do that." He called after her.

"Then hop to, sailor." Mac smiled and Harm rushed back in his room to throw his towel on. "By the way, Webb's coming to get us at 1930 local time."

"That gives us five hours, sailor." Mac stated as they walked back into the kitchen.

"I know, we might really be cutting it close, I know how women like to take hours to get ready for these kinds of things." Harm smiled and Mac tried to look offended.

"That may be some women but I'm a Marine, half an hour at the most, flyboy." She smiled. "So, what are you thinking, sailor. Dress whites or mess dress tonight?"

"Mess dress, we know how Webb's ops tend to work and I can't get blood on your favourite aphrodisiac." He put dinner down on their plates.

"Who says your dress whites are my favourite aphrodisiac?" She challenged as she brought some food to her lips.

"I'd say the fact that I've had to have buttons re-attached three times since we've been dating is a pretty good indication." He smiled as he scraped the last of dinner off of his plate.

"I still don't think that makes them my favourite. You remember that time with the bathtub and the strawberries and the chocolate?" She gave him her bedroom eyes as she gazed across the table at him.

"If you're good at the embassy tonight, maybe we'll come back here for a little repeat performance." He suggested while waggling his eyebrows.

"I will be a perfect angel at the embassy, tonight." Mac raised two of her fingers in a little Boy Scout pledge homage.

"Well, you're halfway there, you already look like a perfect angel." Harm replied as Mac went to go and get ready for the evening.

"Flattery, will get you everywhere." Mac replied with her coy smile.

At 1915, Jim and Angie showed up at Harm's door, ready to hit the ballroom dance floor. Jim wore his black dress uniform, complete with white cover and Angie wore a stunning black sequined dress that's straps met at the back of her neck and showed off just enough cleavage to make her boyfriend and any male in the proximity take notice.

Mac was a vision though, in her blue dress and low neckline. The two women ensured that the JAG delegation would be the centre of attention at the ball and that would only complicate matters. "You ever get the feeling that they're too good for us?" Jim joked with his friend.

"Oh, it's not just a feeling, I know Mac's too good for me. I just figure that I must have been very nice to some gypsy panhandler in my previous life." Harm commented and the two men stood off to the side and watched as the two ladies talked. "Alright, ladies, we've got to head downstairs, our chariot awaits." Harm motioned toward the door.

The four of them stood in the elevator and headed down to wear Webb's limo would be waiting for them. "Why do I feel like we're headed to the prom?" Jim whispered to Harm.

"Because you're getting old." Harm whispered back and the two men laughed. When the elevator hit the ground floor everyone got out and headed toward the waiting limo. The driver opened the door and everyone got in, ladies first, of course. Clayton Webb was in the limousine waiting for them.

"I want to know how many copies of that suit, you own." Jim stated as he took his seat and the car pulled away.

"Just the one." Webb replied.

"So, you shower in it, I'm guessing?" Mac questioned with an annoyed look.

"Since when is this, 'make fun of Clay' night?" Webb shot back.

"Since you started being an annoying pain in the ass." Jim stated.

"Or since we met you, which ever came first." Harm suggested and he exchanged a high five with Jim.

"Gee, don't I feel loved. Anyway, here's the hardware that you're going to need to download the files off of the Ambassador's computer." Webb handed Harm the small portable hard drive. "At 2034, the power to the embassy will be cut, you two…" Webb indicated Harm and Jim, "will have two minutes to get into the Ambassador's office and cut the surveillance to the room. The downloading of the files should only take an additional two minutes. If all goes to plan, you should be back out on the floor dancing by 2039 and your absence will be dismissed as nothing more than a simple bathroom break."

"There's only one problem with that plan, Webb." Harm stated with a dead serious demeanour.

"What's that?" Webb questioned, sounding very annoyed.

"Your ops rarely go as planned." Mac supplied as the cab pulled up in front of the Sudanese embassy. Everyone started to get out of the limousine and Mac had to check one thing before she got out. "You're going back to Falls Church to consult with the Admiral until we get back, right?"

"Or course, who do you take me for?" Webb tried to sound offended.

"Clayton Webb." Mac responded before closing the door behind her. She took Harm's arm and the four of them made their way up the walkway to the embassy. They followed the other guests into the main reception area. The walked up the marble steps which had – for the evening – been draped with a red velvet carpet. Jim's cover had been taken at coat-check and the foursome proceeded to make their way into the main area.

"Hey Harm, Webb said how we were supposed to get into the target area, did he ever say how we were supposed to say how we were supposed to get out without raising suspicions." Jim asked with an evident concern.

"I knew it! I knew he'd screw the pooch on something." Harm protested.

"Calm down, the pair of you are behaving like toddlers. Mr. Webb told me this afternoon that Mac and I were supposed to distract the guards and allow you guys to make your escape." Angela said under her breath so that only her friends could hear.

"My girlfriend the Marine, always prepared." Jim said with a smile as his hand at the small of Angie's back slowly guided her around.

"I hear that." Harm quickly and subtly pinched Mac's six.

"Harmon! You're terrible." She teased.

"I know." He shot a smile at her as Ambassador Moshak came into view.

"Ah, Commander, Colonel, so nice of you to join in the festivities." Moshak greeted them.

"I was surprised to be invited, Mr. Ambassador. I was sure that after five years you'd have forgotten all about me." Jim suggested as he shook the Ambassador's hand.

"I don't believe I will ever forget that UH-60 ride with you and your team over Mogadishu." The Ambassador's tone made his little quip more humorous. "Nor do I believe I shall ever forget my ride in the backseat of Commander Rabb's Tomcat."

"I don't think anyone will ever forget any experience where they've sat back seat for Harm." Jim elbowed Mac in reference to when she'd sat backseat to Harm at NAS Fallon. "Major MacKenzie here, sat backseat for Commander Rabb during an investigation almost a year ago."

"And how did you find that experience, Major?" Moshak questioned.

"She got sick." Harm supplied causing a fast round of laughter. Mac tossed a light scowl at him before joining in the reverie. "You know, Mr. Ambassador, as great as it has been talking about old times, I'm sure the ladies would never forgive the Colonel and I if they got all dressed up and we didn't dance with them."

"Of course." The Ambassador motioned toward the dance floor. Harm guided Mac out on to the floor and noticed Jim doing the same with Angie. They kept relatively close to each other but scanned the room for anything out of the ordinary. After a few dances, they stood off to the side, near the corridor that led to the Ambassador's office. They were growing impatient, leave it to Webb to screw up something as simple as cutting the power.

"Angie, what time is it?" Jim asked, his voice barely above a whisper.

"Forty-seven seconds later than the last time you asked that question." Angie replied.

"Which would make it, what?" Harm persisted.

"Twenty-hundred, thirty six minutes and fifty-eight seconds." Mac replied, her annoyance with Harm's impatience was growing.

"Do you ever get the feeling that they're just using us as incredibly sexy watches?" Angie asked comically.

"Sometimes, I wonder." Mac replied with a smile as she and Angie laughed and the two men rolled their eyes.

"You two do know what you're supposed to do four minutes after the power goes out, right?" Harm inquired as if to bring everyone back to focus.

"Don't worry, Commander, we will be at our ditzy best." Mac replied with a coy smile. As she went to toss him a mock salute, the power flashed off and everyone went into panic mode except for those who knew in advance of this little ploy. Mac and Angie wondered off toward the centre of the main area with everyone else while Harm and Jim dashed through the corridor and into the Ambassador's outer office.

Jim pulled a circuit board out from the back of the security camera which would surely obstruct any picture that would be received from that room. "Alright, the camera's disabled, get that computer on when the power comes back and get the information so that we can get the hell out of here and you can get engaged." Jim sounded hurried.

Out in the main area, the panic was a perfect play right into the hands of those who wanted to seize control of the embassy that night. When the power came back on it was accompanied by a gunshot. "Alright, everyone stay right where you are and no one needs to get hurt." One of the men dressed as a porter had shouted.

"I'm Ambassador Moshak and I will not stand for this!" The Ambassador shouted before the man shot him, wounding him in the shoulder.

"I know that we have a lot of war heroes here tonight, allow me to caution you that any acts which you might consider bravery, will only result in endangering many innocent lives." The porter shouted again.

In the Ambassador's office, Harm and Jim had heard the gunshot. Harm was busy downloading the files off of the computer so Jim went to check it out. He opened the door of the outer office only slightly and saw the guards leave to go out into the main area. "Alright, whatever's going on out there, the guards are in on it." Jim said as he saw Harm pull the portable hard drive out of the computer.

"What do you suggest we do?" Harm looked at his superior officer.

"Well, we're the Duke Boys, right?" Jim asked his friend.

"Yeah." Was the rather succinct reply.

"I suggest that we live up to that reputation and catch the bad guys." Jim had a cockeyed smile on his face.

"Best damn idea I've heard yet." Harm replied.

"It's the only damn idea you've heard." Jim shot back.

"Isn't normally how your ideas become the best." Harm inquired with a smile.

"Alright, Navy, let's go see what's going on." Jim and Harm walked into the outer office and peeked through the door to see the guards coming back into the corridor and heading back toward the surveillance room. "Once they figure out that there's a problem with the camera, one of them should go to check out what's wrong."

"What do we do then?" Harm asked hoping the Marine had an answer.

"We get something big and heavy and club him over the head with it." Jim retorted.

"Caveman tactic." Harm laughed as he reached over and grabbed a lamp that was rather heavy. Jim hid behind a bookcase and Harm was behind the door. When the guard came in, Harm reached out and brained him with the lamp, sending his limp form crashing to the floor. "Not how I'd prefer to get my hands on a gun."

"No, but it will have to do." Jim made a quick sign of the cross over the body of the man when he saw blood trickling out of his ears.

"You suspicious Catholics." Harm commented.

"Every enemy, no matter how vile, is deserving of some grace merely for being human." Jim replied. There was a bustling out in the hallway and Harm opened the door to see what appeared to be members of the catering team, ushering party guests into the hallway outside of the Ambassador's office. Harm was able to see Mac and Angie being hurried into a backroom with the other guests. "We've got a complication."

"Let me guess, we have a hostage situation to add to this international crisis and palace coup." Jim stated sarcastically.

"You know, you sound much smarter when you're caustic." Harm quipped. "Our palace guards have taken two female Marines hostage."

"Those men don't know what they're in for, a few hours without chocolate and they're liable to lose some rather familiar organs." Jim smiled as the last of the bustling died down in the hallway. "I'll grab a pillow."

"Why?" Harm had a 'what the hell?' sort of look on his face.

"Did you bring a silencer with you?" Jim had a wise look on his face. "We need the pillow to deaden the sound of any close range gunshots we let off."

"Of course." Harm muttered and examined the hallway again. There was no one to be found. Like scorpions crawling across the desert they stalked through the hallway toward the surveillance room. Jim carried the pillow and Harm carried the pistol as they finally came to the door of the surveillance room. When they opened the door Jim held the pillow up in front of the gun and Harm pumped two shots into the remaining member of the surveillance team.

The man's body slumped over on to the control panel and Jim reached into the man's holster and took his pistol. "Alright, we've both got guns, now. We still can't go around playing cowboy. This isn't like Syria where we know how many enemies we're facing and we've got submachine guns and plenty of ammo. We've each got a clip and we've got to make our bullets count." Jim whispered.

"You don't have to tell me this, I've done stuff like this before. Granted, that was a hospital, there were only seven terrorists and I was recuperating from being hit by a car." Harm smiled.

"Stryker was right, you sure don't live a boring life, kid." Jim turned toward the TV on which they could see Ambassador Moshak struggling with the leader of the captors for control of a gun. They saw the one man fall and Moshak stand as if looking on in horror. "How much you want to bet that there's more to that story?"

"You don't have to tell me." The two of them headed out toward the door of the room. "Well, what do we do now? I think Mac and Angie are probably plotting something and we just wait on what the result of that is." Harm consulted with his friend.

"The only way those two won't get themselves killed, is if they get flirty. I'm not sure I like the idea of a Marine having to go to that level." Jim stated as he turned the safety off on the gun.

In the room where the hostages had been taken, Mac and Angie were indeed thinking up some way to disarm the guard. They had managed to formulate a plan. Angie and Mac kind of stumbled over to the guards in an attempt to look inebriated. They even got a little flirty with the guards. The second that the guards got close enough to assist these two 'out of control' women, the ladies went into hand-to-hand combat mode and dispensed of the guard rather quickly. "It's even possible to kick ass in a dress." Angie stated as she and Mac reached down to disarm the incapacitated guards. "What do we do now?"

"We go find Harm and Jim; can you imagine those two, left to their own devices, in a situation like this?" Mac smirked as she checked the magazine on the handgun.

"Good point." Angie and Mac stood up and checked the hallway outside of the room. "Looks like the coast is clear." The two women moved out into the hallway toward the main reception area where the militia had taken root. As they moved toward the surveillance room they heard 'psst', 'psst'. "What's that?"

"Either Harm or the building has sprung a leak." Mac whispered as the looked over to see Harm's face poking through the crack in the door of the surveillance room. "You two haven't managed to get yourselves killed yet, should we be impressed?"

"Just get in here, sweet thing." Harm pushed to door open and the two women hustled in.

"Alright, what do we know for sure?" Jim looked around like he was trying to gather Intel on the situation.

"Four guards down, the leader of the militia is dead and we haven't heard any shots since Moshak shot him. This means one thing for sure and allows us to speculate on the other thing." Jim started and Harm finished for him.

"One, Moshak's not dead." Harm was interrupted by Mac.

"And two, he might be one of the militia." She stated like she understood the gist of the situation.

"We can't be sure of that but we're going to have to find out before we do anything drastic." Harm recovered just as the power flickered off. "The DC police, no help and that's not going to change any time soon."

"Wait, they're going to have to turn the power back on, if they want another broadcast from inside the embassy. So the second the power comes back on, we can sneak out and see if Moshak is working with or against this entire scheme." Mac's mind was going at a full speed.

"So what? We sit tight until the power comes back on?" Jim stated caustically, of course it would be that second that the lights came back.

"Let's go." Harm stated and they all moved out of the surveillance room, through the corridor and out into the main ballroom. The corridor was tucked away on a second floor staircase, so they were in the shadows, far away from anything that was happening on the main level.

The JAG team saw Moshak's next address into the camera from the behind a podium. When he had finished speaking, he took the sling off of his arm and he was familiarizing with the terrorists who had seized control of the embassy. "Okay, now we know he's in on it. We split up into two teams; we have to find a way out of here to alert the authorities as to what's going on in here. Ladies, you take the bottom two floors, Harm and I will take the top two floors." Jim theorized as he looked around at his friends.

"Us? Why should we take the bottom two floors?" Angie protested.

"Because Moshak's a gentleman – even if he is a terrorist – and he's less likely to shoot women. If he catches Harm or me, walking around with guns, we're dead. Besides, you both are Marines; I know I can trust you. I have to keep my eye on this silly squid." Jim smiled and the girls decided to take on their mission. They headed back for the corridor while Jim and Harm headed up the staircase toward the third floor.

Mac and Angie navigated their way through the corridor when they were confronted by two of the guards. "Alright, come with us!" The men shouted as they grabbed the two women by their wrists and pulled them off toward the Ambassador's office. After a few minutes of being watched by the guards, Moshak was soon to join them. "Ah, Major and Miss Harris, how very nice of you to join me." The power had once again been cut by the DC police after the last broadcast. Moshak tried to offer them a drink which they both refused.

"I have this feeling that we'll be seeing Commander Rabb and Colonel Grant rather soon too, if you've been brought here." Moshak tossed them a sarcastic smile.

"You know nothing about either of those men. They're at their most dangerous when the lights are out around them. You know that one second you'll be safe and the next second, one them will slit your throat from behind. I imagine, that they're doing a rather nice job dispensing with your guards at the moment." Mac taunted him, her voice was racking Moshak's nerves, and the Ambassador was familiar with both the Commander and the Colonel's legendary reputations.

"Let us hope for your sakes, that you are mistaken." Moshak cocked the hammer on the pistol.

On the third floor, Harm and Jim had dispensed of the few guards that they encountered with relative ease. They were mouse-holing; clearing each floor, room-by-room. Eventually, they came to the last room on the fourth floor. It looked like an old janitor's closet or a storage room or something. They opened it to find a middle aged man, wearing some sort of native Sudanese hat, sitting on a cot.

"You would be Professor Dubotu." Harm stated as if trying to get a response.

"Yes, and who would you be?" The Professor inquired hesitantly.

"Rabb and Grant; think of us like Skywalker and Solo but with lamer guns." Jim stated with a smile.

"I'm afraid, I do not understand." The Professor sounded confused as Jim and Harm helped him off the bunk.

"He's just being a horse's ass; I'm Lieutenant Commander Rabb, United States Navy; this is Colonel Jim Grant, United States Marine Corps. Moshak's taken his guests hostage but the people outside think the terrorists are working for General Denali. We're trying to find some way of letting them know about Moshak." Harm supplied and the Professor seemed to understand.

"Harm, we've cleared the top two floors, there's nothing up here. Our best chance is to head back down to the surveillance room and plan an attack when we can get the lay of the land." Jim suggested trying to think of something a little more proactive.

"There might be another option, it involves the surveillance room but it also involves me being taken captive." Harm suggested, Jim motioned for him to continue. "What I figure is that I can wire the surveillance camera of wherever the Ambassador is, into the broadcast feed and we can play it over ZNN once the power comes back on. I have to get up to the Ambassador's office and signal the cops somehow."

"There are a lot of holes in that plan, Harm." Jim replied with concern in his voice.

"We don't have a lot of other options." Harm retorted.

"I'm taking the Professor with me. Harm, I know your hunch is playing on the Ambassador being in his office but if he's not, don't go looking for him on your own. Find me, we'll reformulate and find a different angle." Jim warned, Harm nodded and the two men parted. "Professor, you're going to need to pick up that gun."

"I will not touch it, violence will only beget more violence and I cannot tolerate that." The Professor protested.

"We don't have much choice, if you're coming with me than you have to be armed, if not, I suggest you go with Commander Rabb." Jim cautioned the Professor nodded at him and went off to find Harm. "I'll never understand the moral objection to saving lives at any cost." Jim muttered under his breath.

The Professor caught up with Harm in the familiar corridor just outside the surveillance room. The two men ducked in and Harm switched the chords so that he could patch the Live ZNN feed into the surveillance camera in the Ambassador's office. After switching the wires, Harm and the Professor made their way back out into the corridor and they crept toward the Ambassador's office. They were confronted by three heavily armed guards who had been dispatched by Moshak do go and find them. The guards ushered them into the Ambassador's office where they saw Mac and Angie on the couch.

"Ah, Commander Rabb, so nice of you to join us. I am rather disappointed that my guards were unable to bring Colonel Grant in with you." The Ambassador tossed the remark at Harm.

"I think the Colonel's presence will be made known in one way or another." Harm remarked with a caustic smile, he was trying to keep his remarks neutral. When Harm had finished his remark, another one of the guards entered the room in a panic.

"Sir, we have seventeen dead members of the guard throughout the embassy." The young corporal informed Moshak.

"Damn that man!" Moshak shouted. "Find him and kill him!" The Ambassador dismissed the young corporal with a flippant wave. "Well, Commander, it appears you were right, the Colonel does have a way of making his presence known. Please, make yourself at home, can I offer you a Brandy?" Harm examined the office and quickly took note of the box on the Ambassador's desk.

"No, but I'll have a cigar." Harm requested with a smile.

"Of course, they're Cubans, nothing but the best." Moshak smiled wickedly as he tossed Harm a lighter for the cigar. Harm bit the end off of the cigar and positioned himself by the window. He made it look like he was trying to light the cigar but he was signalling the police outside in Morse code with the bursts of lighter flame.

In Falls Church, Virginia, AJ Chegwidden, Bud Roberts and Clayton Webb stood around the television watching the events transpire. Bud was the first to pick up on Harm's use of Morse code and he wrote down each of the letters. "P-O-W-E-R O-N. He wants you to put the power back on, sir." Bud sounded panicked.

"Turn the damn power back on, Webb!" The Admiral demanded. Webb pulled out his cellphone and made the call to get the power turned back on.

Back in the Ambassador's office, the lights came back on and the TV in office showed the live video feed of Ambassador Moshak's office. "Looks like your little game is over, Mr. Ambassador." Harm indicated at the television. "Why don't you cut your losses and get out of here, go to the Iranian embassy and get on a flight home, that's your only chance."

The Ambassador seemed to listen to reason. He was nodding his head. He grabbed Mac from the sofa and pressed his gun to her head. "Perhaps, but perhaps I should take Major MacKenzie with me as collateral to get me out of the country." The Ambassador laughed wickedly as he retreated from the office. Harm went to chase after him but his way was blocked by Moshak's guards.

The Professor stepped in to help Harm at this moment. "Why do you block him? What has Moshak promised you? He made similar promises to Colonel Soharto and he is now dead. Why would he keep his promise to you? There has been enough violence today, put the gun down." The Professor closed his hands over the barrel of the young man's gun and watched as the guard lowered it to the ground. The guards motioned for Harm to go on past them and chase after Ambassador Moshak.

Harm was at a full pace as he chased Moshak through the hallways and rooms of the embassy until eventually he caught him in the kitchen. Moshak held the gun to Mac's temple as he faced Rabb. "Oh, Commander, you disappoint me. I can so quickly end all of this by taking her life and I would simultaneously end yours would I not? You're weak, Commander, a part of you will always be her, so why not do the smart thing and ensure her safety rather than risk her life?"

He had a point. Harm might have hated the man but he had a point. Harm was reluctant to lower his gun but that reluctance faded when he saw the cavalry enter, unheard and unseen behind Moshak. He saw Jim taking steady aim with his gun, trying to pinpoint the perfect target for his bullet. Harm accelerated his motion of lowering the gun to draw Moshak's attention and then he heard the shot.

Jim had hit the Ambassador perfectly in a vertebra, sending a limp form to the floor. "He's alive, he's paralyzed from the neck down but he's alive, EMTs are on the way." Jim said as he lowered his gun.

Mac went running into Harm's embrace. "You two, have to be two of the craziest lawyers I've ever met." She smiled at Harm as she kissed him quickly on the cheek."

"Harm, I'll pick up the mess here, it's 2256, why don't you head out?" Jim tossed Harm a knowing look.

"Yeah, that sounds like a plan, thanks Jim." Harm nodded and placed a hand at the small of Mac's back. "Shall we go, my dear?" He sounded very proper.

"Why of course, good sir." Mac replied with an equally proper tone. The two of them walked through the embassy out into Washington, luckily they were only a few blocks from Emerson's. They enjoyed just walking through Washington, the rain earlier in the day made the puddles reflect the street lights. The whole atmosphere looked like something out of a classic movie.

"I have a surprise for you, sweet thing." Harm smiled as he guided her up the steps into the front door at Emerson's. The two of them walked right up to the Maitre'd and Harm took the lead. "Reservation for Rabb." The man quickly scanned the list before finding the name.

"Ah yes, Mr. Rabb, party of two, right this way." The man lead them to a small, secluded table near the window so they could look out into the streets as night fell on DC.

"It's beautiful, isn't it." Mac looked out of the window, there was a romantic quality to this area of DC at this time of night.

"Yes, it is." Harm was looking right across the table at Mac. She noticed out of the corner of her eye and saw him smiling.

"You're pretty fast with the compliments there, sailor." Mac smiled and chuckled slightly under her breath.

"I once told you that you were too damn beautiful. You don't give men a chance, they take a look at you and they can't help but fall for you. Sarah, when I first saw you in the Rose Garden three years ago, I'd just managed to square away my life and you hit it like Hurricane MacKenzie and I haven't been the same since. You were so above every other woman I'd ever met in my life, so strong, so tough, so smart and so challenging. When we were in the mountains and I got to see the vulnerable side of you, I thought I'd seen the whole package and I thought it was odd that it took getting stranded for me to realize that I was falling in love with you.

Sarah, since then it's only been you. It could only ever be you because it took getting to know all that is you to make me fall in love the way I have. These last seven and a half months have been wonderful, in fact I can't think of a single part of my life that's ever been better but it all feels so temporary." Harm got out of his chair, and in a nod to traditionalism, he got down on one knee in front of her. "Give me the chance to make it permanent. Sarah, will you marry me?" He could have sworn that he nearly choked on those last five words.

Mac was fighting some serious tears and she had a hand raised to her mouth in shock but she was eventually able to vocalize an answer. "Yes! Oh God, with all that I am, yes!" She reached out and hugged him and squeezed him tightly into her.

"Yay!" The cheering was from a nearby table where sat Bud, Harriet, Jim and Angie who had laid witness to the whole scene. Harm and Mac smiled and walked over to join their friends.

"I guess this answers the question of how we planned on telling our friends." Mac quipped. She looked over at Harm who looked a little worried at the moment. "What's wrong, flyboy?"

"Nothing serious, it just occurred to me that I'm getting married." Harm smiled and pulled her close.

"And that has you looking worried?" Mac inquired.

"No, what has me worried is Jim and Keeter planning my bachelor party." Harm remarked with a worried smile on his face.


	25. Past Battles

A/N: The following deals with mature subject matter and course language. Use your discretion.

It was early, too early was the best way to put it. AJ Chegwidden hated these meetings, but for cases like this, they were necessary. He had to get Rabb and Grant out of the office before MacKenzie and Roberts got in that morning; well, before anyone got in that morning. It was 0530, the sun had not even thought of coming up yet and still, AJ Chegwidden stood in the middle the JAG bullpen as Colonel Grant and Commander Rabb got off the elevator.

"You wanted to see us, sir?" Harm asked as he and Jim walked up to the Admiral.

"Gentlemen, you're about to step into a PR hurricane. The Second Force Reconnaissance Company at Camp LeJeune has come under fire for racial discrimination. We need people on the inside as well as on the team investigating the allegations. The last X.O of the Company was a Major Rabinowicz, he died during a live fire exercise but the Pentagon believes and I think rightly so, that he was fragged."

"Holy Fuck!" Jim muttered under his breath.

"That's right, Colonel. I'm sending you two in on the ground. We don't know how high this goes and speculation is that the whole body including the head could be infected on this one. Commander Rabb, you'll reassume your role of two years ago, you are Gunnery Sergeant Jackson Post. Colonel Grant, you'll go in as the X.O of the Company and the leader of Post's platoon as Major Julius Goldstein." The Admiral handed them their cover stories.

"What kind of racism are we looking at here Admiral?" Harm inquired.

"Full-fledged, Aryan kind of hatred, Commander. Jewish people, African-Americans, Arabs, Catholics etc. This is going to be tough on both of you; I trust that you two can do your jobs but if it gets too much, don't be afraid to tap out. I thought we'd done away with this after Vietnam but, I guess it's never really over." His sombre expression was shared by the two men he was addressing. "Commander, your new uniforms are in your office. Colonel, I'm guessing you still have your old gold oak leaves from when you were a Major?"

"Yes, sir." Jim replied.

"Commander Rabb, you're dismissed." The Admiral stated firmly and Harm walked off to his office. "Jim, I don't like this. Harm's engagement and your little boy, the two of you are risking a lot but I was hearing it from everyone; the SECNAV, the Commandant, hell, even the SECDEF called me yesterday. I'll look after your son, but be careful out there."

"It's going to take more than some racist pricks to wear down this old Marine war horse. I can't believe this kind of thing still goes on in my Corps. How much do the brass know about this?" Jim had his hand on his chin, his thumb slowly raking over the stubble.

"Nothing more than what I've told you. Listen, Jim, the second you see Klan hoods, swastikas or burning crosses, you beat it out of there and take Harm with you. You're not the Commandant yet, this isn't your Corps to clean up. Just be the platoon leader you were when you earned those medals on your chest and play everything close." The Admiral sounded grim.

"Something about this just doesn't smell right. Something tells me that the head is rotting as fast as the body on this one, AJ." Jim shook his head in disbelief. "In the 70s, during the Nixon era, when they were integrating schools, I got in a lot of fights protecting black Marines; I didn't think I'd be doing the same thing twenty –five years later."

"Alright, I'm ready to go." Harm was dressed in the Marine green Class A uniform with a Gunnery Sergeant's chevrons and he even wore the garrison cap.

"Jesus Christ, Harm! You almost look like an actual Marine. Admiral, before we leave, we have to get a picture of this." Jim laughed and crossed his arms over the front of his chest. The Admiral laughed at the notion and then dug into the pocket of his blue jacket.

"Thought you'd never ask, Colonel." The Admiral took out the disposable camera and snapped a quick picture of Harm. "There, that should be good for some blackmail at his bachelor party." The Admiral tucked the camera back into his pocket.

"Give me a second, Harm. I've got to run and get my old oak leaves from my office." Jim jogged across his office and pulled out a key to open the bottom drawer of his desk.

"You keep your old rank insignia in your desk, why?" Harm asked with a look genuine confusion in his eyes.

"In case I'm asked to go undercover." Jim smiled over the desk. He took his Eagles off of his uniform and replaced them with the gold oak leaves. "Alright, Gunny Post, let's head out."

"You got it, Major Goldstein." Harm smiled and the two of them jogged through the bullpen toward the elevator. "I'm guessing that since you're a Marine, you have a ready sea bag in the jeep at all times?"

"Yeah, you brought yours, right?" Jim asked noticing the bag Harm was carrying loosely at his side.

"I keep it in my office; it's amazing how Mac's rubbing off on me." The elevator doors closed and they went down to the bottom level of JAG Headquarters. "It's going to be a long drive to North Carolina."

"Sure is; I've got Bob Seger, Bruce Springsteen, The Eagles, Tom Petty and CCR. Which one do you want to listen to first?" The two of them hopped into the Government Issue sedan.

"Why do you get to drive?" Harm whined as he took the passenger's seat.

"Because I'm the superior officer, Gunny. Besides, I'm letting you pick the music, so would you pick a CD already?" Jim commented as he fired up the car.

"Fine, I pick Seger, are you happy?" Harm laughed as he slid the CD into the CD player.

"Very much, it's good travelling music." Jim smiled as he pulled the car out of the JAG parking lot and toward the interstate.

Mac had slept at her own apartment last night, for the last time. She wanted one last night there before the lease ran out, almost for memory's sake. She went into work that morning to find neither Harm nor Jim there, which was particularly odd. Harm was usually late, sure but Jim was always early, always sitting in the break-room with Bud drinking a strong cup of Marine-strength coffee.

"Ma'am, the Admiral wants to see us in his office ASAP." Bud informed Mac as she walked through the bullpen. The two of them walked into the Admiral's office where not only the Admiral, but General McKinney, the Commandant of the Marine Corps, himself were there waiting for them.

"Major, Lieutenant, have a seat." The Admiral instructed them.

"Major, there's scuttlebutt going around that the Corps has a racial discrimination problem when it comes to the Second Force Recon Company at Camp LeJeune. Last week, they lost the Company X.O a Major Rabinowicz and a Gunnery Sergeant Hafiz during a live fire exercise. We have reason to believe that they were fragged." General McKinney was stoic and condemning in his delivery of the news.

"Sir?" Bud's shocked reply was indicative of the feeling of everyone in the room.

"Sir, wouldn't Colonel Grant be a remarkable asset to this team?" Mac protested, she knew that if Jim got wind of this investigation, he would be none too pleased to have missed it.

"The Colonel is on investigation with Commander Rabb at Camp Smedley Butler in Okinawa right now. They're not expected back for a while." AJ hated lying to her but he wasn't ready to tell her what was actually happening.

"You two, covered the Force Recon investigation out at Pendleton two years ago, you two are the two I want investigating this incident." General McKinney assured them with a nod.

"Aye, aye sir." Mac and Bud came to attention.

"Good, you're dismissed." The General stated which was followed by Mac and Bud leaving the office. "Alright AJ, if you're people can fix this major charlie-foxtrot, you'll have my signature for that petition to the SECNAV to keep Rabb and MacKenzie under the same command."

"I appreciate this, Arthur, but we've still got one hell of a minefield here and two of my people are standing right in the middle of it." Admiral Chegwidden understood the gravity of this situation but he had confidence that two of his best could handle it.

1400 ZULU

CAMP LEJEUNE

JACKSONVILLE, NORTH CAROLINA

"Welcome to Camp LeJeune, Major." Brigadier-General Walsh greeted them as they met him out in the compound. "As per the Commandant's instructions, I'm the only person who knows of the basis for your investigation as being something outside of merely the incident in question."

"Thank you for that, General. I'm told that the new X.O is addressing Second Force Recon Company this morning, I'd like to see that if you don't mind." Mac stated rather plainly. Her years with Uncle Matt had given her an uncanny knack for reading the demeanour of Recon Marines.

"Not at all, Major. I can take you over there right now. You too, Lieutenant." Bud and Mac jumped into the jeep with General Walsh and headed for the place where the new X.O was addressing Second Force Recon. "Major Goldstein sure was a find, Gunny Post, too." The General said with a smile. Then it registered with Mac, Gunnery Sergeant Jackson Post, Harm wasn't on an investigation at Smedley Butler, he was doing the footwork here.

"Did you say Gunnery Sergeant Post, sir?" Mac inquired with the General.

"You know him, Major?" The General looked over at Mac.

"The Gunny and I served in Bosnia under Captain Walls." Mac informed him.

"Gonzo' Walls? The Gunny sure was a find, Major." The General pulled the jeep up the place where Second Force Recon was being addressed by Major Goldstein who was standing up on a small hill. Julius Goldstein had a familiar build and stature and demeanour but his face was hidden under the shadow cast by his camouflage cap.

"My name, is Major Julius Goldstein! I am here to fix what God has so badly screwed up in each and every one of your sorry behinds and believe me I will succeed. Over the course of my time here, you will bleed, you will cry, you will sweat and you will break. And when you break, I will build a Marine in your place." Major Goldstein had a very heavy southern drawl. "This is not just the Marine Corps, gentlemen. This is Force Recon, more is expected of you than is expected of any other soldier on this earth. So, this is how this is going to work, if you screw up a drill, your team will run five miles. If you screw up a simulation, you will owe me three hours of push ups, if I hear anything that even remotely could be construed as a complaint, oh boy, I will make you wish you were never born much less in this man's Marine Corps." Major Goldstein was right up in Gunny Post's face. "Do you understand me!"

"Sir, yes, sir!" The Marines bellowed.

"Good, now you have precisely two minutes and twenty-nine seconds to get ready for today's drills. Dismissed!" Major Goldstein bellowed and the Marines broke off. "Gunny Post, go and get a hose and soak down that field, that's where we'll start today." The Gunny nodded and ran off to do just as his superior officer had ordered.

"Major Goldstein?" Mac inquired as she walked over to him.

"That would be me." The Major replied, a cigar hanging out of his teeth.

"Major MacKenzie, JAG Corps." Mac extended her hand and the Major merely stuck out his, not lifting his head. Mac never saw his face.

"I've been updated, Major. I know you're here to investigate, so anyone of my people you need, you just tell me or Lieutenant Colonel Benton ahead of time and you'll get them." Goldstein was walking over toward where Gunny Post was soaking the field and the Marines were standing, waiting for instruction.

"Thank you for your co-operation, Major." Mac was curious as to what this Major Goldstein looked like, there was something familiar about him.

"Not a problem, Major." Goldstein lifted his head and Mac was able to see that Major Goldstein along with Gunny Post were doing her ground work on this one. Jim Grant, undercover as her peer and fellow Major, she could enjoy her stay here at Camp LeJeune.

"I may want to speak with you and Gunny Post together at the end of the day to get your impressions on your new unit, say around 1900?" Mac inquired.

"Of course, Major." Jim smiled and jogged over to the field. Mac and Bud walked off toward their temporary office and Bud looked back to watch Jim start to take over Second Force Recon. "Alright, ladies, Gunny Post has soaked down the field as per my instructions. I'm going to get you used to Recon life today. Assume a push-up position!" Jim watched as the Marines all fell to their bellies, even Harm.

"This is how this is going to work, I will shout a quote and ask one of you for the author. If you cannot give me the author, you will run two miles and then you will come back here and do five hundred push-ups with one of your fellow Marines sitting on your back!" Jim stated emphatically. "Do you understand!"

"Sir, yes, sir!" The Marines bellowed.

"Good!" Jim remarked. "Count'em off, boys!" Jim let the Marines get the rhythm before he started into the game. He carried the personnel roster on a clipboard so that he had names. "I regret, that I have but one life to give to my country.' Who said that, Lance Corporal Graves?"

"Nathan Hale. Jr. sir!" Graves replied through a grunt.

"Good, see gentlemen, it's not that hard. 'War is cruelty. There is no use trying to reform it, the crueller it is, the sooner it will be over.' Who said that Sergeant Pierce?"

"Uh…Teddy Roosevelt, sir!" Came Pierce's tentative reply.

"Wrong, Sergeant! Give me those two miles!" Jim shouted and watched as Pierce got up and ran off along the track.

"What about you Corporal Jones, do you know the author of that quote?" Jim crouched down to the Marine.

"General William Tecumseh Sherman, sir!" Jones shouted.

"Very good, corporal! 'The art of war is simple enough. Find out where your enemy is. Get at him as soon as you can. Strike him as hard as you can and keep moving on! Who said that Gunny Post?" Jim crouched down next to Harm.

"You did, sir." It was part of the act, Harm had to irritate Jim in order to fit in with those who would hate 'Major Goldstein' because of his religion. Jim brought his boot up to Harm's ribs sending Harm flat to his stomach in the mud.

"Did you think you were being humorous, Gunny?" Jim growled at Harm, he reached down and grabbed Harm by his collar than used all the force in his arm to drag Harm through the mud to the front of the congregation of Marines, he then hauled Harm to his feet. "Answer me, Gunny! Did you think you were being humorous!" Jim looked like eight veins in his neck were raring to explode.

"No, sir!" Harm's reply came. He hadn't realized just how ruthless his friend could be if given the circumstance. Jim stood in front of Harm with his back to him. Then, before Harm could counter, Jim dealt a swift elbow to Harm's gut, then he proceed to grab Harm by the arm and haul him over his shoulder causing him to land swiftly on his back on the ground.

"Part of being a Force Recon Marine is hand-to-hand combat. Never forget that!" Jim stated emphatically as he saw Sergeant Pierce come running back to the field. Harm struggled to catch his breath for a second before Jim helped him to his feet. "Alright men, go meet up with Captain Hurst at the obstacle course!" Jim blew the whistle around his neck to dismiss the Marines.

2400 ZULU

JAG OFFICES, CAMP LEJEUNE

JACKSONVILLE, NORTH CAROLINA

Harm and Jim had their meeting with Mac and by God they were actually there on time. Harm was awful sore after his first day, Captains Hurst and Davis had been easier on him than Jim had been and he was going to say something to his friend once they were safely in the camp's JAG office. Harm walked into Mac and Bud's temporary office to see Jim already there waiting for him.

"Close the door, behind you Gunny." Mac stated so that anyone on the other side of the door could hear. Harm closed the door and sat in a chair while Jim was leaning up against a filing cabinet.

"How was your first day of Force Recon, Harm?" Mac smiled as she saw him wince.

"Sore." Was Harm's tired reply.

"Sorry about that, buddy. Hell, I was easier on you on your first day than Matt was on me way back when. When I got lippy, Matt beat the crap out of me. My first day of Force Recon training earned me four bruised ribs by Matt O'Hara's boot. Besides, you know that the harder I am on you, the more likely it is that the racists we're here to investigate will trust you." Jim gave Harm a pat on the back and in that instant all of the day's transgressions were forgiven.

"Yeah, I know and you certainly pissed off enough of the company today. I won't be surprised if you're the most hated man in the barracks when I hit the rack tonight." Harm and Jim shared a laugh and Mac cleared her throat to interrupt them.

"What, if anything, can you tell me after your first day?" Mac asked looking from one of them to the other.

"Nothing really, in drills this morning I just naturally picked on those members of the company that seemed predisposed to the kind of behaviour we're here to investigate." Jim started. "Growing up in the south, I guess detecting racists almost comes second nature."

"I heard the usual rumblings during the day and around the table in the mess this afternoon but there was nothing that would send up a flag." Harm informed her as he ran over the day in his mind.

"If you don't mind me, I do have an idea and as senior officer on this investigation, I think I should voice it." Everyone turned toward Jim. "Harm, if you hear anything tonight, go to Mac's quarters tomorrow night. If we make it look like the two of you are having an affair than they'll think they've got something that they can use to blackmail you and that might make them more open around you because they'll think they control you."

"I don't like it, you and I are in this thing up to our elbows and that's fine because we agreed to this duty but Mac didn't, I don't want to get her involved." Harm stated forcefully.

"Harm, I was only suggesting it if we have reason to believe that they're willing to talk but reluctant to trust you." Jim retorted as he saw Harm's protectiveness take over.

"Harm! I'm right here you don't have to treat me like I'm incapable of making the decisions. Now, I agree with Harm that it might not be necessary right off the bat. However, if they are reluctant to trust you, this may be our only recourse. I don't like it either but, Harm when I signed up as a JAG officer I agreed to this duty too." Mac looked her fiancé sternly in the eye.

"I know, but you can't blame me for wanting to keep you out of trouble, can you?" Harm pleaded and a smile grew on Mac's face.

"Do I need to remind the two of you that it's normally you two that get me into trouble?" Mac questioned with a laugh.

"Can't argue with the facts." Jim added as he and Harm headed out of the office. Harm was bunking with the enlisted men in their quarters while Jim was given a house on base as part of his cover. Harm made the walk across the base from the JAG offices to the enlisted quarters and the second he reached the foot of his bunk, he threw himself down on it. He was bunking near two of the enlisted that Jim had picked out during the drills that morning. On one side was Sergeant Pierce and on the other side Corporal Graves.

"I can't believe it, the second one kike leaves; we get another one in here." Graves muttered loud enough for Harm to hear.

"What do you mean, Graves?" Harm inquired trying to bait the young man.

"Major Julius 'thinks he's fucking Caesar' Goldstein, Gunny." Sergeant Pierce informed him. "At least you're one of us, last Gunny we had in here was that rag-head Hafiz."

Their bigotry was really turning Harm's stomach. Here were two people, completely unable to look past what a person was to see who the person was. He was wondering how hard he was going to have to look to find the Klan hoods underneath their bunks.

"Speaking of rag-heads, did you see that pretty little Marine Major JAG officer that come into camp with General Walsh, this afternoon?" Graves was crossing lines he didn't know existed by talking about Mac.

"Yeah, she might be one of them, but I'd still take her for a ride on the old divining rod." Pierce laughed from his place on his bunk. "What about you, Gunny? What's your opinion our lovely majorette?"

'Mac and God forgive me for what I'm about to say' Harm thought. "Yeah, she sure is something to look at, boy, but like you said, she's one of them." Harm could swear he felt his stomach lurch upward.

"Just because roots of the tree are rotting, doesn't stop the fruit from being fun to enjoy, Gunny." Graves laughed as he turned in.

'Well, what do I know? I know that my bunk-mates are raging racists. I know that Jim's got a nose for picking racists out of a crowd. I know that both he and Mac could be in some serious trouble.' Harm's thoughts were torturous; he had nothing that could incriminate them in the murders of Rabinowicz and Hafiz and he might have to wait until either his friend or his fiancée were in danger to do anything.

0800 ZULU

ENLISTED QUARTERS, CAMP LEJEUNE

JACKSONVILLE, NORTH CAROLINA

At 0300 that morning, Jim Grant – known to Second Force Recon as Major Goldstein – burst through the door of the enlisted quarters with a metal pot and a wooden spoon to wake his Marines. The sound of the spoon hitting the pan rang through the quarters as the Marines began to stir. "On your feet, Marines! Alright ladies, I've got you until Captain Hurst takes over at 1000 this morning. That gives me seven hours to square you away. If you aren't sweating, bleeding or crying by the end of the day. You are not working hard enough!"

Harm – known as Gunny Post to Second Force Recon – was out of his bunk and on his feet but Corporal Graves was slow to stir and that made him the perfect target for Jim's gung-ho attitude. Jim walked over to Graves' bunk and placed the pot on the Corporal's head before banging on the pot with his spoon. "On your feet, Graves!" The Marine tried to scramble to his feet but they were caught in his bed sheet. Graves crashed to the floor Jim placed a foot on Graves' back as the young man lay on the floor. Master Sergeant Andrews had turned the lights on in the barracks and the Marines were all focused on Major Goldstein.

"Graves, you are one sad excuse for a Marine, you know that? But, that's okay, because I'm going to turn this scared little boy into one very squared away Marine!" Jim smiled widely as he saw Graves scowl even Harm was having a hard time keeping the grin from his face. "Get ready, Marines, you're about to run twenty miles this morning! And then we'll do some hard callisthenics to wake you up. I'll be taking you over to the wall at 0830. Hop to, Marines!" Jim and Master Sergeant Andrews left the barracks.

"I swear, that crazy kike is going to run us into the ground." Pierce muttered as he pulled on his cammies.

"Think he's trying to kill us?" Harm suggested, the very fact that he had to make that inference made his skin crawl but he had to be in character.

"Wouldn't be the first time that one of them, tried to kill a good white boy." Graves stated as he put his camouflage cap on. The enlisted quarters emptied out and the Marines came into formation in front of Major Goldstein.

"Alright, we're going for a run. If you get lost, report back to camp and expect to be kicked out of this program because you are not Force Recon material! I have no doubt in my mind that I have got to be looking at the shabbiest bunch of recruits that the Department of the Navy has ever allowed to be put in a Marine Corps uniform. You all are a disgrace to the fine tradition of the USMC. So I am going to make it my personal mission to make your lives hell, so that you rise to the challenge of what it means to be a Marine!" In the cold September morning you could see Jim's breath rise like steam from his nose as he stood in Sergeant Pierce's face.

Jim and Master Sergeant Andrews lead the Marines through ten miles of brush and woods in the North Carolina countryside. The Marines that were trying to make through Force Recon training were having problems navigating the forest trails that Jim and the Master Sergeant were making them run. After more than an hour they came to the foot of a great monument that looked to be in some public park. The statue was black and it showed a great figure looking into the horizon. "Gentlemen, this is a monument to General William Tecumseh Sherman, the man who put down the greatest nuisance in American history, known as the Confederacy. Sherman, even though he was Army, did everything it took to ensure the survival of the greatest union that this world has ever known. That is what is asked of you as United States Marines." Jim examined the Marines that had taken the run through the brush and he saw a few scowling faces.

"Sherman will never be Lee." Harm stated to gain Jim's attention and further their little charade. Jim walked over and without a second thought, grabbed Harm by the front of his cammies and threw him down to the forest floor.

"Did I ask you to talk, Gunny!" Jim shouted as he placed his foot square in the middle of Harm's chest.

"Sir, no, sir!" Harm replied almost enthusiastically.

"You would do well to remember that, Gunny!" Jim put a little more weight on his foot under he could feel Harm twitch in discomfort, then he laid off. "Get back in formation, Gunny!"

"You would all do well to remember that for the duration of your time here, your collective asses are mine! Any outbursts as such and I can promise you one very large world of pain, do you understand me?" Jim threatened as he walked amongst the Marines.

"Sir, yes, sir!" The Marines chorused. Jim was starting to remember what it was like to be back in the real Marine Corps. A desk at JAG had it's moments, but this was the Corps where you formed minds and shaped men. They called it indoctrination but the old guard of the Marine Corps called it 'the way things were meant to be done'. After callisthenics and the wall, Jim sent the Marines off to deal with Captain Hurst for the rest of the day.

Hurst wasn't as tough on Harm and the rest of Second Force Recon was Jim was. Well, he wasn't tough on most of Second Force Recon, he did tend to single out the African-American and Latino members though. He came down hard on them when they struggled with parts of the course but he was light on Harm, Graves and Pierce if they did.

This case was unsettling, he wasn't sure how far up this corruption of common sense went, but he feared that it had seeped into the highest parts of this chain of command. Out in the field, Jim was a mean cuss, there was no doubting that, but he was the same mean cuss with everybody that crossed him. He had once been told that there was a reason that there had never been a Marine Corps version of 'tailhook' and that was that in one Marine Corps chain of command there was always one good officer that balanced off everyone else. For Marines, their country was like a child, it was theirs to protect and good Marine Corps officers were capable of putting that above all else.

In Harm's mind, he knew he'd had the pleasure of meeting the best Marine Corps officers. It amazed him exactly how much like Matt O'Hara, Jim Grant actually was. But there was the other side to the Corps as well. Men like Graves, Pierce and Hurst who saw their loyalties to their skin colour as superseding their loyalties to the Corps. Major Julius Goldstein was an obstacle for them, a six-foot-three wall of muscle with a cigar hanging out of his teeth. Harm knew that with the way he pushed Graves and Pierce it would only be a matter of time before he drove them to edge.

Earlier in the day, Pierce had trouble getting over the wall and Jim had taken it upon himself to berate the young man, dressing him down in front of the entire platoon and taking his time in doing it. Harm tried to suppress the thought that he was enjoying watching Graves get what was coming to him. He watched Graves squirm like a worm under a hot rock as Jim Grant leaned into him with everything that he was and even more.

By the end of the day, the enlisted men of Second Force Recon were tired and sore. Harm was sweating buckets as he sat on his bunk. Graves and Pierce were bleeding and complaining about 'Major Goldstein' just as Jim had wanted.

"I'm gonna kill that fucking Jew!" Pierce shouted as he tended to the cuts on his arms. "Show him what happens when you embarrass one of your betters."

"Easy Pierce, we've got the meeting tonight. I'm sure that one of the leaders will bring it up." Graves assured him. That was all Harm needed to hear, he could get into that meeting if he sounded indignant enough.

"I swear, I'll frag the son-of-a-bitch myself, if he thinks he can get away with tossing me around the way he has." Harm warned, clenching his fists until his knuckles turned white.

"Calm down, Gunny, there are ways of handling these problems already in place. You'll see if you come with us tonight." Pierce offered.

"I don't care where I have to go or what I have to do. That…thing," Harm couldn't bring himself to use a racial slur, even in character. "Isn't going to get away with tossing me around."

"Alright Guns, you're coming with us tonight, there are people that know how to deal with problems like Major Kike." Graves acted like he was trying to settle Harm down but in reality he'd fallen right into the plot. Tonight, he would get to the root of the problem at Camp LeJeune. Harm had forgotten a piece of advice that Jim Grant had given him a year earlier out in the California dessert. Easy entrances normally mean that exit will be a bitch.


	26. Southern Justice

A/N: I've finished Chapter 28 but I'm having some creative problems with some storylines, I'd like to get at least to Chapter 38 before ending the story. I've only got three storylines after Chapter 28; please bear with me if my updates aren't the most regular after I post it.

Jim Grant sat in his house on the base. He'd wanted to drink tonight but he couldn't. He never drank while he was in the field. It had been only since becoming a JAG that he drank and never to excess, only one or two. He couldn't smoke either, one cigar a day was enough for him and he only rarely even smoked that. "Can't drink, can't smoke that only leaves…"

"Sex." The familiar female voice jarred him back to reality.

"Angie? What are you doing here?" Jim's voice was suddenly racked with concern.

"I'm counter-intelligence now, remember? I can find out pretty much anything I want to. The Admiral told me you were on assignment, an assignment whose importance is all that's being talked about in Marine circles at the Pentagon. You could get yourself killed down here, stud." She smiled and sat in his lap.

Jim lifted his hand to her cheek turned her face toward him. "Angie; sweet, beautiful Angie. God, what happened to our Corps that I even have to be here?"

"You're doing your duty. That was originally what worried me about us. I wasn't sure if you were keeping me alive because of your oaths to God, Country and Corps or because when you looked at me, you felt what I did. You're a good and decent man, but the problem is that you never asked anything for yourself. You gave whatever was asked of you and took whatever was given." She spoke to his very soul, she knew he was a good man. To her, he was like Bob Cratchit, a man content with being lorded over by the Scrooges of the world. "What is it that you want?"

In his forty-two years, no one had ever asked him that. His whole life had been about what people were willing to give him and that was fine. She shifted in his lap so that his arms were around her waist and her back was against his chest. She could feel warm, hesitant breaths on the back of her neck. "Angie, no one has ever asked me that." His reply was heart-felt and honest.

"I figured; I'm asking you now, what is it you want? There is no country, no Marine Corps, none of the things that complicate matters. You, James Grant have the chance to ask one thing of the world and have it granted to you. What is it?" She felt his arms encircle her and pull her tight into him.

"To open my eyes and see you every morning. To see you before I close them every night. To finally have the chance to find solace in something other than my job for the first time since I was sixteen." He was being honest, not just with her but with himself. He'd been married but Nikki was more in love with the idea of him than him. In Nikki's eyes he was this tin soldier that was hers to play with when she wanted him but he had never admitted that to himself until that moment.

He broke in that moment, everything that had ever been true in his life, all the illusions and walls that he had built around himself over the years had come crashing down, leaving him bare, vulnerable and unprotected. He clung to her and she cradled his head with her shoulder. "I've only ever been in love the way you're supposed to love another person, with you. I know it sounds wrong and I know that it's hard to believe but you know me, Angie. No one else I've ever known has taken the time to do that."

"You are the sweetest man I've ever met. I'll never know how you kept me alive in Albania but you did. You kept me alive, you kept me fed and you kept me going and all the while you managed to make me feel safe and cared for." She placed her hands on his. "I fell madly in love with you because for the first time, this tough Texas girl broke down and even though I still tried to be tough, you knew that I needed to be cared for and it didn't matter how much you were bleeding, you were going to care for me." She leaned back and kissed his cheek. "For the first time in your life, James Grant, you will get what you want. I will be there when you open your eyes in the morning and when you close them at night."

0137 ZULU

UNKNOWN LOCATION

JACKSONVILLE, NORTH CAROLINA

Harmon Rabb was being guided by Pierce and Graves through the brush to place where this meeting was supposed to take place. Tonight, he was going to find out exactly how much of the base had been infected by this racist poison. All he wanted was to get back to DC, back to trying to build a life with his Sarah. He stumbled through the brush to a clearing. There were no cliché white robes and burning crosses, no swastika tattoos and you'd have to look hard to find any semblance of the stars and bars in the immediate vicinity.

He saw Captain Hurst and Lieutenant Colonel Benton and his suspicions along with the Admiral's were confirmed. The whole Force Recon structure at LeJeune was corrupt from the top down. Along with Hurst and Benton there were a few other members of the Second Force Recon Company. The only thing that put Harm's mind at ease was that Master Sergeant Andrews wasn't here, it meant that Jim at least had someone in the platoon besides himself that he could count on.

"Alright, we all know why we're here. General Walsh felt the need to give Force Recon another kike X.O, God only knows why. Anyway, Major Goldstein is causing some real problems, I can't have some Jew running a bunch of perfectly good Aryan Marines into the ground." Benton started and he looked around the group to see approving nods from everyone else.

"So, what are you suggesting, Colonel?" Pierce was ready to lay it out on the table after they way Jim had messed with him earlier in the day.

"I arranging a rescue op drill tomorrow. The drill will simulate conditions of a hostage or prisoner of war rescue in territory similar to those currently being faced in Serbia. Frag him but make it look like an accident. Like he fell off a cliff or drowned in a river or something but get rid of him." Benton was really taking the lead on this one.

"I don't like having to answer to this Goldstein as X.O, not when I'm due up for my O-4 in a few weeks and I can take that position rather than being shipped out to Mobile or some other godforsaken place." Hurst added with a very cynical look on his face.

"Pierce and Graves, you two are going to have to help Gunny Post with this one." Benton indicated the three men. "Andrews is a traitor and Jones is a nigra so they might actually help the Major so when you're looking to get rid of him, make sure that at least one of you is off with Jones and Andrews."

"Yes, sir." Harm responded, overjoyed that he and Jim had been convincing enough to catch these guys as fast as they had.

"Alright, you three have your assignment and I will be very disappointed if it is not considered. Do to Goldstein, what you did to Rabinowicz and Hafiz." The Colonel instructed with a cold glare in his eyes.

"Yes, sir!" Pierce responded with an almost demonic smile. Harm was glad that Jim had a talk with the Intel officer earlier that day. The Intel officer had given Jim a microphone that looked just like the button on an everyday pair of blue-jeans. That microphone had been privy to the whole conversation that was just had and tomorrow, the JAG officers were going to nail their suspects.

1100 ZULU

COMBAT SIMULATION AREA, CAMP LEJEUNE

JACKSONVILLE, NORTH CAROLINA

"Gentlemen, this is a timed simulation. There is no live fire but you have thirty minutes from insertion to escape to rescue two hostages. This will test exactly how far I have to take you in the course of the next few weeks." Jim paced in front of his team. "There are some of you…" Jim was standing in front of Harm who as wearing a second surveillance microphone, this time disguised as the chevrons pinned to the collar of his cammies. "Who have what it takes but need to be pushed. Then there are some of you…" This time Jim was standing in front of Corporal Jones, the only African-American on the team. "Who have it in you and are willing to let everyone know it. Finally, there are some of you…" This time Jim was standing in front of Pierce and Graves. "Who are simply wasting my time."

The team was piled into the back of an armoured transport. They sat three to a side with Harm sitting on a side with Pierce and Graves while Jim sat across from him next to Andrews and Jones. "When we hit the ground, we're looking at a few miles of ravine and brush before we come to an old horse barn. Pretty modern construction, steel frame but wooden doors. Pierce and Post, you're with me. Andrews, you'll take Jones and Graves." Jim ordered as the transport hurried along the dirt roads out to the simulation insertion point.

Pierce couldn't believe his luck. Goldstein was actually going to go into the thick brush of the simulation area with himself and Post, this was the perfect opportunity to follow through on Colonel Benton's plan. The armoured transport pulled to a stop and the Recon team hopped out and made their way around to either side of the vehicle. Jim relayed the approach to Master Sergeant Andrews through hand signals before the team made their way into the bush.

Harm followed the skulking figure of his friend the Marine Colonel through the bush to a location where the forest began to rise high on the backs of a few hills. The floor of the brush was carpeted with descending foliage, as was typical of autumn. Benton sure had planned this exercise out perfectly. The old horse barn was situated near a steep rock face the climbed at least sixty feet above a river with a strong current. Harm could swear that he never heard Jim's boots make a single sound as he crept along the forest. In Syria, when Phillips had rhymed off the short list of Jim's medals it had been hard to maintain his shock but actually seeing him in his element like this, was different.

They neared the back of the old horse barn when Pierce decided to take over Colonel Benton's order. Not realizing that most of the team would notice Major Goldstein's absence when they entered the barn. Jim was ridiculously close to the edge of the rock face but he had to be for their trap to be set. Pierce had forgotten the order that Benton had given him and lowered his gun to fire at Jim. Harm lunged for the pistol and jolted Pierce's arm but not before Pierce could unload one shot into Jim's right shoulder. Jim cried out in pain and fell back on his heels. Harm struggled to pin Pierce to the ground but the man got free from Harm's grasp

Pierce rushed Jim, ready to strike him with the butt-end of his rifle and send him down into the raging waters.

"Major, No!" The voice was that of rushing Corporal Jones who sprang, seemingly from nowhere, and tackled Sergeant Pierce. Pierce was sent to the ground with a heavy thud and Harm dashed over putting his foot square on Pierce's chest to hold him to the ground. The momentum had almost sent Corporal Jones over the rock face but Jim had managed to reach out and catch his wrist. "I'm slipping, sir." The young man sounded panicked.

"The hell you are, Marine! I'm not letting a good Marine die after he saved my neck." Jim's fingers wrenched into Jones' wrist creating a death grip that would make rigor mortis proud. "Harm, it's going to take every last ounce of strength in my arm to pull Jones up and it's also probably going to dislocate my shoulder. When I howl in pain, don't flinch, keep your boot firmly on Pierce, you hear me?"

"Yes, sir." Harm replied, completely ignoring the fact that Jim had broken cover. He saw his friend dig in and with a mighty howl and a loud pop, almost like the launching of a firecracker, he saw Jim haul Corporal Jones back up as his shoulder –as expected – dislocated, causing the Marine to cry out in pain.

"One arm dislocated and shot, looks like you're getting out of this one relatively unscathed, Colonel!" Harm tried to add some levity to the situation.

"Colonel, sir?" Jones asked with a confused look.

"I'm Colonel Jim Grant, that's Lieutenant Commander Harmon Rabb; we were sent here to stop bigots like Pierce and Graves from preventing good Marines graduate from their Force Recon training." Jim winced noticeably.

"Thanks for helping out there, Jones. Without you, Colonel Grant could be being dragged under the waters in that river down there. You're a hero, son." Harm smiled at the young man who was beaming with pride.

The howl caused Master Sergeant Andrews and Corporal Graves to come running over. "Master Sergeant, I'm Lieutenant Commander Rabb, JAG Corps, take Corporal Graves into custody. We're heading back to the base." Harm held out his ID and the Master Sergeant did as he was told and Harm took Pierce back to the rendezvous point with the transport vehicle. Corporal Jones was a little shocked to know that Jim and Harm were JAG officers but he didn't regret saving Jim.

Harm radioed ahead from the transport to Mac and General Walsh who had the MPs round up Captain Hurst and Lieutenant Colonel Benton. When the transport arrived back at the base, they were greeted by Bud, Mac, Angie and General Walsh. "You two have to be the craziest lawyers I've ever met." Walsh greeted them and Jim and Harm shared knowing smiles.

"You know, we've heard that a lot lately." Harm stated with a smile as Walsh's MPs unloaded Graves and Pierce from the transport. Harm hopped down off of the transport and swept Mac into his arms. "There's something I want to talk about later, could we?" He asked in whisper so only she would hear.

"Yes, of course." She whispered back.

"You know, I knew who _you_ were the entire time, right?" Walsh stated as Jim cradled his right arm.

"Really? Should I be intrigued or worried?" Jim stated with a smile.

"Intrigued, I sat on your O-6 board last year. I'm also one of the biggest proponents for making you the Chief of Recon Operations for the Marine Corps." General Walsh supplied as he shook Jim's good hand.

"Good to know I've got fans in high places, I should probably get my shoulder popped back into place and get that pesky bullet pulled out, though. Where's your corpsman?" Jim smiled and the General pointed him off in the right direction. Jim and Angie walked together toward sickbay and a few minutes later, a howl could be heard through the base and Jim's shoulder was wrenched back into its proper place.

In Mac's quarters, she and Harm were sitting together on a bunk. It didn't exactly take a psychology degree to see that he had a lot on his mind. "Harm, what's wrong?" Mac looked concerned into Harm's distant expression.

"I'm worried, Mac." He stated plainly

"I can see that, what's good you so worried." She slowly stroked his arm with her hand.

"It's just this case, Mac. I had to play in a role that went against everything I am. I had to hear and even participate in the kind of discussion that turned my stomach. I mean, God, Mac, they were talking about you at one point and I just…I worry that I'm not cut out for this kind of undercover assignment. It ate at me, Mac. I got so disgusted at what was going on that I hesitated for a second and Jim has a bullet in his shoulder to show for it!" He stated as he buried his face in his hands.

"What do you mean, you hesitated?" She inquired; it broke her heart to see the pain, the anguish in his eyes.

"During the simulation, when Pierce went to strike Jim, I saw the whole thing almost like it was being slowed down and I hesitated Mac. I got too disgusted by the marks this time and it skewered my attention for that split second." He held her tightly, as if she was the last piece of humanity that he had left. She cradled his head and let him drain his sorrows into her shoulder. Something had finally gotten to Harmon Rabb.

"Shhh, baby, it's okay." She whispered in her attempt to comfort him. "Even superman had to face kryptonite, right? You were surrounded by one atmosphere for days in which you were forced to immerse yourself. You had to face the most vile of human emotions and even though you held up against it, no human being could get away completely unscathed."

"You're too good for me, you know that?" He whispered into her ear with a smile.

"I don't know about that, I'd say that we're perfect for each other though." She smiled as she brought their foreheads together. "Harm, don't be so hard on yourself, you did what you had to while undercover and in doing so, God knows how many lives you might have saved. We're all human, we all make mistakes, you're Navy so you're more prone to them, sure–"She smiled as he looked into her eyes.

"More prone to them, really?" He teased as he lowered his hands to her ribcage. He started tickling her fervently which made her burst into giggles as she fell backward on to the bed. He lay next to her and pulled her on to him. "Marry me, have our children and spend forever with me." He whispered as he looked into her eyes.

"I've already agreed to that, sailor." She smiled at his romanticism.

"Then we should probably get working on it." He leaned up and quickly kissed her on it.

"The marriage or the kids?" She responded the product of thinking of either was one very wide smile.

"Well, we're not really in the place to start working on the kids, no matter how hard it is for me to keep my hands off of you. So, why don't we talk about the marriage?" He stated as both of his hands nestled at the small of her back, sending a chill up her spine. "When do you want to get married?"

"June, it's the time of year when spring melds into summer. The perfect cross between love and heat." She whispered into his ear as her breath caressed his neck.

"June works. Do you know where you want us to get married?" He leaned up and gave her a quick peck on the lips.

"It has to be some place that's significant to us. I don't imagine Red Rock Mesa or your room at the American embassy in Columbia being particularly wise logistical choices. I'd like us to have the reception at the Willard, though." She smiled weakly yet hopefully.

"The NATO Ball, I remember that night. God, you looked so beautiful in that dress. It took all my composure to not take you in my arms, get a hotel room and have my way with you." The two of them shared a laugh.

"And you would've gotten your way, sailor." She added with caused him to raise his eyebrows in surprise.

"Alright, so we know that we want the reception at the Willard but where do you want the wedding?" He pressed his question.

"This isn't supposed to only be about me, you know. This is a big day for you as well." She retorted as she flicked the end of his nose.

"Sarah, if you get the wedding you want, I know that will make you smile and that smile alone will make my day." He whispered and she savagely caught his lips with hers in an attempt to make him understand what his words were doing to her.

"Harm, you're going to have to stop being so damn sweet, otherwise we're going to be working on the kids right now, too." She whispered.

"I will try and contain myself." He pledged with the little Boy Scout hand gesture.

"I guess, I don't quite know where I want the wedding yet but when I find out, it will feel right and you'll be the first to know." She promised as she ran her index finger down his throat, finally stopping in the middle of his chest.

"Maybe, we should continue this discussion in DC?" Harm suggested.

"Probably a wise idea." She laughed and gave him a quick kiss on the cheek

Out on the steps in front of sickbay, Corporal Jones sat looking down at his hands. He was waiting for the man he knew as Major Goldstein to come out of sickbay. The man had saved his life, that much was true but there were so many questions floating around in his head. When Jim Grant came out of sickbay with his arm in a sling and Eagles on his shoulders instead of his undercover gold oak leaves.

"Sir!" Jones came to attention.

"At ease, Corporal. What can I do for you?" Jim stood in front of the younger man.

"Well sir, it's just…sir, in the few days that you were here you actually made me believe that I had what it took to be a Recon Marine, Colonel. I just wanted to know if you honestly thought that, or if you were just saying it to annoy those two bigots, sir." Jones had been mulling the question around in his head.

Jim had changed into his Class A uniform after getting his shoulder fixed. He looked down at the ribbons on his chest and had an idea. "Corporal, do you know what that ribbon stands for?" Jim pointed to his chest.

"A Navy Cross, sir." The Corporal sounded almost bewildered.

"Good, do you know what those two ribbons stand for?" Jim used his index and middle finger to indicate two similar ribbons on his chest.

"Silver Stars, sir." The Corporal was wondering why he was taking part in this medals recital.

"Corporal, they don't give you those medals for lying. The only things that I wasn't completely honest about on this mission were my name and rank. In twenty-plus years in Recon, Corporal, you are one of the best recruits I've ever come across. There's a reason for that. You follow your instinct and your heart instead of over-thinking everything. So here's what I'm going to suggest. You finish your Recon training, do a few missions with a Recon team and then if you want, call me and I'll review your service record. If you live up to the potential I know you have, I'll have a chat with your CO about getting you into OCS, okay?" Jim smiled as he saw the young man's eyes grow wide.

"Sir, do you really think I'm officer material?" Corporal Jones was smiling widely.

"Corporal, you almost got yourself killed today to protect the life of a superior officer. What's more, is that even with more than twenty years of Recon experience I didn't hear you coming until you spoke. You've got it in you to be a very good Marine and an even better officer. Just live up to your potential." Jim gave him a pat on the shoulder.

"Thank you, sir!" Jones shouted.

"Semper Fi, Marine." Jim called as he dismissed the Corporal. Jim walked over to where Angie was standing with Mac. "Where's Harm? I'd like to get the hell out of here and back to DC."

"In there, tearing your suspects a new one. I couldn't get anything out of them but racially slurs about my ethnicity. General Walsh is really dressing down Lieutenant Colonel Benton, I haven't heard anything that loud since the Admiral tore into Harm for firing off that HNK in court a few years back." Mac laughed.

"Now, there's a story I don't think I've heard." Angie commented with intrigue.

"Colonel Grant, I could use some help dressing down Lieutenant Colonel Benton, if you would be so kind." The General appeared at the door of the building where his office was. Jim nodded and headed up the steps to the building. Angie and Mac walked the grounds outside.

"You know, the more I hear about you and Harm, the more it sounds like a fairytale. The rose garden, the NATO ball. Granted, it's kind of a Tom Clancy version of a fairytale but still." Angie stated wistfully.

"Sometimes I find myself wondering if it's all real. Wondering what I've done to have earned having all my dreams laid at my feet. Harm says that it's happening because he was incredibly generous with some gypsy panhandler in an earlier life. I keep telling him he came Government Issue right along with my assignment at JAG." The two women shared a laugh.

"And what does he say to that?" Angie asked looking over at her friend.

"That the Navy obviously wanted him to have a wife so they issued him one. He is still kind of surprised at their choice of issuing him a Marine though." They laughed again. "He's been so many things to me since we met that it's hard to imagine parts of my life without him any more."

"See, now that's love." Angie commented cutely.

"Speaking of which, you're not doing too bad in that department, yourself. Fifteen years and you could be the wife of the Commandant of the Marine Corps." Mac stated almost plainly. It was no secret that Jim Grant led the candidates on the Marine Corps fast track.

"It's perhaps an odd thing that I don't find that scary, considering our relationship is only five months old. Maybe there's just an old softie inside this Texas Marine, what do you think?" Angie and Mac were fast becoming friends, despite Mac's initial reluctance to accept her when they're first met in the summer.

"I think you sound like a woman in love." Mac offered.

"And that's a bad thing?" Angie had gotten used to hanging around with lawyers.

"Not at all, he's happier now than I think I've ever seen him. It's amazing how after an investigation, all can seem right with the universe." Mac laughed almost sarcastically remembering the first time that thought head crossed her mind. She remembered sharing a dinner with Harm on his bed after that one.

"You ready to head back to DC?" Angie asked as she saw Mac looking off into the dying sun.

"Yeah, you think the guys will let one of us drive?" Mac inquired.

"After the week they've had, I think they'll be too sore to complain." Angie commented as the two women walked over to the Government Issue sedan.

"Hopefully, Harm won't be too tired for other things." Mac insinuated with a coy smile.

"Sarah MacKenzie, you're incorrigible." Angie and Mac shared a laugh as they leaned on the car and waited for the guys to finish their business before whisking them away back home.

Harm and Jim came walking out of the main administrative building toward the ladies waiting for them by the car. "Honey, have I ever told you how much of a fantasy of mine it is, to tear a Gunny's uniform off of that chest of yours?" Mac looked at him with he bedroom eyes.

"No but maybe later we can…" Harm started but he was interrupted.

"Are you quite finished? I realize that a week sharing a barracks with a bunch of sweaty Marines probably wasn't a vacation for your libido but you could at least wait until we're back in DC." Jim argued with a great deal of humour and a wide smile.

"You think that just because you're shoulder's in worse shape then post-war Dresden, you get to complain?" Harm inquired with his first real smile in what was a long week.

"I'm a Marine, I don't complain, I make reasonable objections in a less than mature tone." Jim corrected.

"That's right!" Angie and Mac affirmed which caused Harm to laugh boisterously.


	27. Happy Halloween

A/N: I was just wondering what the fan choice is going to be for the decision that the gang faces at the end of this chapter. Should be interesting to get some input on who/what you guys think is best.

Halloween at JAG, normally it meant nothing. But with three women, very much in love, constantly around the office, they were making every attempt to make every holiday special. They organized a costume party, much to the chagrin of the men in the office. The Admiral volunteered to host it on the condition that he didn't have to do any of the cleaning or cooking.

Harriet had some kind of weird stomach flu lately that was sending her to the bathroom every few minutes. It had Bud really worried, he had no idea what to do and he was scrambling for answers. The only two officers who knew anything about what might be going on, weren't really paying that much intense attention to the situation. The fall was a hard time for cases on the JAG staff. It seemed that sailors and Marines seemed to have problems keeping themselves in lines more during the fall and spring sessions than they did in the summer or around Christmas.

For the first time in the little more than eight months that they had been together, Harm was facing off against Mac in court. The office had been peaceful when they were working on the same team, now that they were working against each other in court, things had become less fluid.

"That's it! You are so sleeping alone tonight, Commander!" Mac shouted as the two of them moved through the bullpen.

"That's real mature, Major. Resorting to threats because you were out-lawyered." Harm shot back as they stood at the entrances to their offices.

"Out-lawyered? Sand-bagged, Commander. I thought that you were mature enough to maybe go beyond pulling cheap tricks to win in court, guess I was wrong, huh." Mac slammed the door behind her and all action screeched to a halt in the bullpen.

"Haven't you people ever heard of argument? Get back to work." Harm stormed off into his office.

In his office, Jim Grant was in mid-swallow of half a bottle of aspirin when he heard the Admiral's voice come over the intercom. There were only two words in his message. "Fix this." Jim turned his chair trying to plot a course of action but he knew what he had to do.

"Roberts!" Jim shouted into the bullpen catching both Bud and Harriet's attention. "My office, please." Bud and Harriet collected themselves and walked into the Colonel's office. "Alright, now I don't know what happened in court but Lieutenant, you were sitting second chair to Commander Rabb, would you care to explain?"

"Well, sir, Commander Rabb was able to get an accident report de-classified by Naval Intelligence this morning." Bud started then stopped.

"That doesn't sound all that angering." Jim interjected.

"No, sir, that's not it. The fact is that he could have had it de-classified earlier and only chose to get it de-classified this morning." Bud explained and watched as comprehension washed over the face of his superior officer and partner.

"Alright, Bud, you and I are going to go in and talk to Harm. Harriet, even though I don't like sending you into Mac's office without back up, I'm afraid I'm going to have to. I've been given orders to fix this. So, let's try." Jim clapped his hands together and the three officers headed out of the office to the other side of the bullpen.

One of the many benefits of being a senior officer is that you don't have to knock on office doors. Jim, knowing full well that Harm was about to boil over, decided to exercise that luxury. "Marine incoming." Jim stated as he opened the door.

"What's up?" Harm asked as he saw Jim and Bud enter the office.

"Apologize." Jim stated plainly.

"Why? I didn't do anything wrong, I did my job." Harm protested.

"I know and if the same situation happened again, I would advise you to do the exact same thing. Apologize anyway." Jim was trying to contain laughs at how naïve Harm was acting.

"I don't understand, if I didn't do anything wrong and you'd order me to do the same thing if the circumstance came up again, why apologize?" Harm was very confused.

"Because it doesn't matter that you don't think you did anything wrong. She thinks you did, therefore you did and if you know what's good for you, you'll apologize." Jim almost sounded like a university professor.

"I'm afraid, I don't understand." Harm looked on quizzically.

"I'm not following either, sir." Bud responded.

"I know you're not. It's because you're both young and stupid, no offence. When I first got married my Grandpa O'Grady took me aside and gave me some advice. He said 'son, there will come a time when you and your bride will argue. When this happens, pose this question to yourself. Would you rather be right or happy? I've been married to your grandmother for 44 years, I haven't been right in thirty-nine years and I am a happy man.' Harm, you're in a relationship, Mac is a woman, the last thing she wants from you is to hear that you're right and she's wrong. It'll make her feel insecure and incompetent which in turn will result in you getting your six kicked. Go in there, apologize and realize that she reserves the right to mention this incident in any future arguments." Jim smiled wisely as he finished.

"Not exactly painting the most encouraging picture of marriage, Colonel. I mean part of what's so great about Mac and I, is how we argue." Harm protested.

"Sir, if I may. I don't think the Colonel's telling you not to argue. I think the Colonel's just telling you to be fast to apologize when the argument's over." Bud clarified well enough to bring a smile to Jim's face.

"See, Bud gets it." Jim laughed.

"So, what do you suggest?" Harm looked up from his desk.

"Mac's favourite fancy restaurant and give her your credit card. I'll talk to the Admiral and get her and Harriet the afternoon off. They can go shopping for a dress for your dinner tonight. But you still have to go into her office and apologize." Jim motioned for the door. Harm got up and walked out to go and apologize to Mac.

"Sir, if I screw up like this with Harriet, will you help me fix it too?" Bud inquired with hopeful eyes.

"Of course Bud, that's what friends are for." Jim gave Bud a fraternal pat on the back and the young Lieutenant smiled.

Harm knocked on Mac's door and poked his head inside. "I'm incredibly sorry for acting stupid. Please accept my apology and offer of dinner at Emerson's tonight?" Harm had a puppy-dog look in his eyes, just pleading with Mac for forgiveness.

"You're forgiven but I don't have a dress for Emerson's tonight." Mac explained but Harm interrupted her.

"Not a problem. I've pleaded with the Admiral, who, - after assurances that this will be the last time we explode at work – has graciously given you and Harriet the afternoon off to go and find a dress. I also figured you could use this." Harm tossed her his credit card. "Have fun, ladies."

"You were pretty confident that I'd accept your apology." She smiled coyly.

"I figured you loved me enough to be forgiving if I admitted I was wrong." He shot her a trademark smile.

"Tell Jim to get Angie out of work to meet us at the mall and you might even get to move off the couch back into the bed tonight." Mac added with a sneaky smile. Harm merely nodded and turned to leave the office. "That is why there should be one experienced married man in every office."

"Why's that ma'am?" Harriet asked, confused by the seemingly random comment.

"In the course of ten minutes, Harm apologized, made dinner reservations, got me the afternoon off and gave me his credit card so I could go buy a dress. It would have taken him days to do that if he didn't have some serious counselling from higher brass." Mac looked knowingly at Harriet.

"You think that the Admiral or the Colonel…"

"I know that they did and don't look so surprised; I know that you were probably in on it." Mac took on her best prosecutorial expression.

"Guilty." Harriet admitted sheepishly. "Come on ma'am, we've got the rest of the day off, let's head down to the mall." Harriet and Mac got up and moved out of the office. Within a few minutes, they were both through the glass doors and on an elevator on their way out of JAG.

"Alright, it's lunch, I ordered Mexican, let's eat." Jim gave Harm a pat on the back and the two of them headed into Harm's office. They ate lunch in Harm's office whenever Mac wasn't in the office. Both of them would sit back and put their feet up on Harm's desk and they would just shoot the breeze. "You know, you're wedding's actually turning into quite the event. Both the Admiral and I have been taking calls from people trying to use our influence to talk to you about inviting them."

"Who could possibly want to come that badly?" Harm quipped as he shoved another bite of his veggie burrito into his face.

"There's the SECDEF, SECNAV and a few members of Congress. But by far, the two most interesting requests came from Heads of State. The Prime Minister of Israel wants to come in order to thank you for saving the life of his Foreign Minister when Mercy Hospital was taken over by terrorists a few years ago. The President wants to come to thank you for avoiding war with North Korea over that incident on the USS Reprisal last year." Jim looked up like he was trying to dig the information out of his memory bank.

Harm almost choked on the water he was drinking when he heard about the last two. "The President actually made a rather handsome offer from what I understand. If he attends, he's allowing the use of the Rose Garden for the reception or the ceremony. I guess he's heard about how you and Mac met." Jim bug into his taco.

"You're serious?" Harm raised his eyebrows in a careful attempt to hide his elation.

"I talked to his Chief of Staff the other day. He said that he realized the press attention such an attendance could bring and that the decision should completely be yours if you even want strangers at the wedding but he wanted you to know that the offer was there." Jim explained with a few animated hand gestures.

"Can I actually turn down an offer made by the President?" Harm inquired.

"I think, since it's your wedding, you can actually do that. I'm not sure quite how wise it would be, but it's in your power." Jim laughed slightly under his breath.

"What about the Israeli Prime Minister?" Harm inquired almost thinking the idea to be somewhat humorous.

"I think he'd get a kick out of knowing that he's attending the wedding of a woman who's part Iranian." Jim quipped.

"My wedding is not a peace summit." Harm commented.

"Maybe you could honeymoon at Camp David." Jim fired back.

"Not funny." Harm stated sternly.

"Oh, it is and you know it." Jim returned.

"What do you think the girls are doing right now?" Harm inquired with a distant look taking over his eyes.

"Burning a hole in your credit card." Jim remarked as he brought his Iced Tea to his mouth.

"Don't remind me, should all be worth it when I see Mac in her dress tonight." Harm smiled widely.

"Jesus, eight months to the wedding and you're already talking like a newlywed. You're going to have one of those families where your first child is born nine months to the day after the wedding night, aren't you?" Jim laughed almost paternally.

"On a different matter, have you noticed that Harriet's been sick an awful lot lately?" It was something Harm was only just catching on to.

"She's pregnant." Jim stated nonchalantly.

"What do you mean, she's pregnant?" Harm almost seemed to choke on his food.

"It's not particularly difficult to put two and two together on this one if you've ever lived with a pregnant woman before. Harriet's sick all the time and her moods are all over the charts." Jim explained as he waved a pen around like he was illustrating his point.

"What do you suggest we do?" Harm questioned.

"Absolutely nothing, let her tell us when she's ready. Until then, don't let her lift anything and be very understanding with her moods. Pregnancy maybe a complete pain for women but it's no cake walk for us either." Jim smirked as he tossed the wrapper from lunch into the garbage.

"I think it's pretty easy for us, though." Harm chuckled under his breath. Jim leaned forward, bent his head over and pulled his ear forward to reveal a scar that was a good inch and a half long.

"You see that scar?" Jim motioned.

"Yeah." Harm surveyed the scar.

"I got that from paring knife when Nikki was pregnant with Gabbs. I wasn't sent on a mission during that entire pregnancy, so I'm lucky that's the only souvenir I have from it. Then there's this…" Jim pulled forward on the collar of his shirt to reveal a scar that extended from his shoulder to his collarbone. "I got that when she was pregnant with David, luckily, I got called into Desert Storm the next day." Jim smiled.

"You were stabbed? What the hell for?" Harm was shocked to say the least.

"Well, the scar I got from David's pregnancy I blacked out afterward so I don't really remember. I think with Gabbs, Nikki told me she was pregnant and I made some comment about elastic waistbands. I spent several nights on the couch for that one." Jim laughed heartily. "That's why I'm good at advising you boys, I've made all the mistakes before."

"That may be but I still can't believe you were stabbed. I mean, I've heard of women going a little overboard but attempted murder seems like crossing the line to me." Harm chuckled.

"Oh that's nothing, she broke three of my fingers when she went into labour with Gabbs. I think I earned it though, by the time her sixth month rolled around I was begging the Company to send me on missions. They just couldn't find anything they wanted me to do. I figured I had less of a chance of getting killed in a war zone. When I found out that she'd gone into labour with David, I was in a meeting with Schwarzkopf. I was still a Major then, TAD from JAG Pacific and this young Corporal comes wandering in and decides to interrupt Schwarzkopf, mid-briefing, to tell me that my wife is in labour back in the states." Jim explained as he lowered his feet off of Harm's desk.

"What did General Schwarzkopf do?" Harm listened to the story with interest.

"Schwarzkopf looked right at the kid and said 'What the fuck good does it do him here? By the time he got back to San Diego, the kid will be born anyway.' Harm, you had to see this kid's face when Schwarzkopf raised his voice, I don't think I've ever seen anyone that terrified."

"We're going to help Bud keep Harriet away from firearms and sharp objects." Harm and Jim shared a laugh and then went back to work.

0100 ZULU

EMERSON'S RESTAURANT

WASHINGTON. D.C

"Great news, sweet thing." Harm cheered as he looked over his menu at her.

"What is it, flyboy?" Mac looked deeply into his eyes and she saw that he was grinning like the proverbial Cheshire cat.

"We've got the ability to use what has to be the perfect spot for the wedding. There's a condition attached though." Harm started to explain.

"Well first off, I think you should tell me where this ideal place is before we even consider the condition." Mac was dead serious about any business relating to the wedding.

"It's the White House Rose Garden." Harm started and took not of the look of shock on Mac's face.

"Who do you have to kill?" Mac smiled widely, it was the right place, in fact it was the only logical place for the two of them to get married.

"No one, we do have to invite the President though. Apparently a few of our escapades have caught his attention and he wanted to show his appreciation." Harm reached across the table and covered her hand with his. "You look beautiful tonight, Sarah. You just couldn't help but go with the little black dress, could you?"

"Well I just happened to realize that I didn't have one and every girl should have a little black dress. Especially if she's got a sailor like you to appreciate her in it." She raised his palm to her lips and placed a kiss on it.

"Sarah, you have to know by now that it doesn't matter what you wear, I'll appreciate you." He states tenderly as their food arrived.

"I know but like I said, a girl just likes to hear these things sometimes." She smiled as he ran his fingers over the top of her hand.

"So, about the Halloween party tomorrow night at the Admiral's." Harm started. They talked and ate their meal. The conversation was kept mostly to general details about what they wanted for the wedding and then they talked about work and petitioned each other for advice on some of their current cases. Eventually, dinner was done and Harm paid the cheque before they went home.

They went up to the apartment when an idea flashed through Harm's head. There was something he's never done for Mac since they'd been together. He couldn't believe with all that had happened that he would forget this one thing but it escaped him and now he was determined to make it up to her and end their perfect night on the right note.

"Sarah, lay down here." Harm gently guided her over to the bed and he laid her down on her side. "I was trying to think of the perfect way to end this evening and this was – at least I think – the best idea. Harm sat on the edge of the bed with his guitar in his lap and gently he began to serenade her.

_She was morning_

_And I was night-time_

_I one day woke up_

_To find her lying_

_Beside my bed_

_I softly said_

"_Come take me"_

_For I've been lonely_

_In need of someone_

_As though I'd done _

_Someone wrong somewhere_

_I don't know where_

_Come lately_

_You are the sun_

_I am the moon_

_You are the words_

_I am the tune_

_Play Me_

_Song she sang to me_

_Song she brang to me_

_Words that rang in me_

_Rhyme that sprang from me_

_Warmed the night_

_And what was right_

_Became me_

_You are the sun_

_I am the moon_

_You are the words_

_I am the tune_

_Play Me_

_And so it was_

_That I came to travel_

_Upon a road_

_That was thorned and narrow_

_Another place_

_Another grace_

_Would save me_

_You are the sun_

_I am the moon_

_You are the words_

_I am the tune_

_Play Me_

Mac felt the words cascade over her as his voice blended with melody brought on by the plucking of the guitar strings. He was right this was the perfect way to end their evening. His song, was in her mind his testament to how she completed them and she could think of nothing other than how mutual the feeling was. In her attempts to respond to his actions she could only respond with words from the song. "Come take me."

2130 ZULU

ADMIRAL CHEGWIDDEN'S HOME

MCLEAN, VIRGINIA

The folks from JAG were congregating at the Admiral's that night. Harriet had hired caterers so that the Admiral wouldn't have to do any of the cooking or clean up, as per the initial agreement. Most of the couples were trying to match in some way. Harm wanted to go dressed up as a famous pilot and Mac said she felt like dressing up like a princess and having Harm be her prince. They had tried to think for days about ideas for what to go to the party as until, inspiration struck.

Harriet and Angie were the driving forces behind the planning of this party. Harm had been quick to remark that it was remarkable that the Navy and Marines were able to work on anything without arguing. Mac was about to object to his little comment before he reminded her all the times that they argued over pretty much everything. Harm hadn't told anyone of the conversation that he'd had with Jim about Harriet being pregnant. It did amuse him how Bud managed to walk around work looking like the cat who swallowed the canary.

Harm and Mac walked up the Admiral's driveway to the house. They could hear the music inside and smell the food. They opened the door and their eyes were treated to a multitude of questions. "Hey look, the Flintstones are here." Harm pointed over toward the corner where Jim and Angie were dressed up just like Fred and Wilma Flintstone. Jim looked his comical self in the orange Flintstone costume and Angie drew attention as the white Wilma Flintstone dress that she wore clung to all her curves.

"And here come Joe DiMaggio and Marilyn Monroe." Mac replied as Bud and Harriet walked over to them.

"Nice costumes, sir. I never would have figured you for a fan." Bud exclaimed with a wide smile brimming on his face.

"I'm not, but Mac wanted to be a princess and I wanted to come as a pilot. Mac wanted her princess to be a strong woman and…" Mac cut him off.

"I wanted her to depend as much on the man in her life as he depended on her. So our costumes were the only logical choice." Mac smiled and wrapped her arm around Harm's waist.

"I still can't believe you went all out with the hairstyle, ma'am. That must have taken your stylist hours." Harriet commented, amazed at the intricacy of Mac's hairstyle.

"It was a total pain to sit through." Mac commented.

"Jesus, Harm, does everything you do have to involve a pilot in some way?" Jim shouted as he and Angie walked over.

"Yeah well, the Millennium Falcon is no Tomcat. I don't know, Flintstone. Hey Jim, didn't you go to grade school with Fred and Barney?" Harm shot sarcastically.

"Har har, remind me why it was funny when I put you on Saturday filing duty." Jim replied.

"Now that you're all here, Bud and I have an announcement." Harriet and Bud were smiling widely. Angie and Mac were wide eyed in anticipation and Jim and Harm exchanged knowing looks. "We're pregnant!" Harriet practically screeched.

"That's fantastic, Harriet." Mac stepped forward and pulled Harriet into a hug.

"Congratulations, Bud, Harriet." Harm shook Bud's hand.

"Way to go, Bud!" Jim gave Bud a high five. Angie had been noticeably silent since the announcement. One would assume that she was waiting to hug Harriet, something Mac wasn't quite done doing yet but for the tears that were threatening her eyes. "You okay, baby girl?" Jim put a comforting hand on her back.

"Oh, it's just these damn hormones!" Angie protested trying to laugh.

"Hormones? Is it…I mean like time of the month?" Jim tried to keep his voice down. Angie had her face buried in her hands as she shook her head from side to side. This little aside conversation had attracted the attention of the group.

"Let's just say Harriet's got company." Angie tried to state softly. A second round of smiles and congratulations passed through the group of friends but it was soon interrupted by the sound of something thudding against the floor.

"What happened?" Bud looked around to for signs of something that was broken but Harm merely pointed to the floor.

"Flintstone down!" Harm announced with a small chuckle as he saw Jim lying unconscious on the floor.

"What happened to him?" The Admiral, dressed as a very dapper George Washington, came rushing into the kitchen.

"He fainted." Harm stated plainly.

"Marines don't faint, we pick inopportune times at which to lose consciousness." Mac informed her fiancé.

"I don't care what it is. What caused him to do it?" The Admiral stressed.

"Well first I announced that I was pregnant, sir." Harriet stated with a smile.

"Congratulations, Ensign. I fail to see why that would cause Colonel Grant's current condition." The Admiral persisted.

"Then I stated that I was pregnant." Angie relinquished the information.

"I now understand why he's on the ground. Tiner!" The Admiral bellowed and the yeoman –dressed as Fonzie – came running to the Admiral's side. "Get me the smelling salts from under the sink in the bathroom."

Tiner dashed off and was back under a minute later with the requested article. The Admiral waved the smelling salts under Jim's nose in an attempt to bring him back to consciousness. The group of friends watched as the Marine Colonel slowly came back to consciousness. "Angie's pregnant isn't she?" Were the first words out of her mouth.

"Well, there's nothing wrong with his memory." Angie stated with a little chuckle.

"Oh, it has nothing to do with my memory. I've only fainted twice before. Both times had been the result of the pregnancy announcements of my children. It serves to reason that would be why I passed out this time." Jim sat up on the floor.

"Up and making logical arguments. He'll be shouting 'Semper Fi!' in no time." Harm smiled and chuckled as he held Mac tight into him. Jim slowly got to his feet and gave his head a shake.

"Yabba Dabba Do! That's what I'm supposed to say, right?" Jim smiled as he roped his arm around Angie's waist.

"What're you thinking, soldier-boy?" Angie was hesitant, she had kind of sprung this on him without warning and hence didn't know what his reaction would be.

"That you just made me one very happy man, baby girl." He wrapped his arms around her waist from behind and placed a kiss into the crook of her neck. "Now where's Ritchie Cunningham?" Jim looked around for his son who had dressed up like Ritchie from 'Happy Days'.

"He's still clinging to Fonzie's leg." Mac pointed to where Tiner in fact did have seven year-old David Grant clinging to his leg.

"Look at it this way, Harriet. You'll have someone to go to Lamaze classes with." Jim suggested with a wide smile.

"Hey, you and Bud are going to have to go too, sir." Harriet warned with a scolding finger.

"Bud, think of it this way, you won't have to go through it alone." Jim gave Bud a pat on the shoulder.

"I guess there's some comfort in that, sir." Bud smiled. "I can't believe I'm going to be a dad!" Bud was euphoric.

"Believe it. You're both young too, which, according to studies, means you'll have a pretty good chance at having a boy. Pass on that Roberts name and character, Bud." Jim and Angie smiled at the notion.

"Sir, your first child was a girl so I guess nothing's for certain." Harriet stated.

"Yeah and even by your logic, your next child could be a little girl." Bud stated.

"Not with the history of boys in my family." Angie refuted. "I have eight older brothers."

"My mom had six older brothers, having boys just runs in our families. But, I'll love the child no matter what. That's one of the greatest joys of fatherhood, Bud. In a matter of minutes after that child is born, you will not remember what life was like before it came along." Jim stated wisely as Angie leaned up and kissed him on the cheek.

"You'll be a great father, Bud." Angie stated sweetly.

"Thank you, ma'am." Bud smiled widely.

"Bud, I'm not in your chain of command and I've only recently been promoted. I think you can call me, Angie." She responded.

"Baby girl, it's no use, I've been trying to get Bud to call me 'Jim' for more than a year." Jim started to slowly sway her in his arms.

"I just respect you too much, sir." Bud replied.

"Let's see if you're singing the same tune after you and I sit in on a few Lamaze classes." Jim shot back and earned a laugh.

1400 ZULU

JAG HEADQUARTERS

FALLS CHURCH, VIRGINIA

The Admiral sat at the head of the conference room table, examining his senior staff at the table. "There's one final item of business today. The SECNAV thinks that we're understaffed. With Rabb, MacKenzie, Grant and Roberts in the field for the LeJeune investigation, this office almost ground to a halt. As such, I've been ordered to post one of the following JAG officers to my staff." The Admiral stopped.

"Why are you letting us know about this, sir?" Harm inquired, speaking for pretty much everyone at the table.

"Because there is a good chemistry in this office, Commander. I want everyone's input on who I assign to this office before I assign them so that I don't disrupt that chemistry. Toward that end, I will read out the names and a little background information on each of the officers and then we'll put it to a vote." The Admiral looked around the table to find consenting nods of approval.

"First up, is a participant in and allied exchange program. An Australian, a Lieutenant Commander Mic Brumby. Former boxer, a few citations but nothing spectacular on his record. Second, is a former member of this office. Lieutenant Meg Austin, she's worked here before so she knows the workings of the office and she's worked with Commander Rabb and Lieutenant Roberts so there's something to be said for her ability to fit into this atmosphere. Last, is a former submariner, he's surfaced and now he's a lawyer. Lieutenant Commander Sturgis Turner is the son of the Navy's first black chaplain and a very decorated submariner, he's a by-the-book officer and his record indicates he went to Annapolis with Rabb, is that true?" The Admiral looked down the table at Harm.

"Yes, sir. Sturgis and I were friends at the The Yard." Harm replied.

"Good, let's hear what you have to think people and then we'll vote." The Admiral said and then turned to his right to give Mac the first opinion.


	28. Mr Rabb Goes to Washington

Mac could feel the eyes on her as she prepared her opinion in her head. "Well, sir, while I don't doubt the benefit that could be had with having an exchange officer in our midst, there is something to be said for an office that run with the efficiency that this office does. As such, I think Lieutenant Austin would probably be the choice that would keep the office running at optimal efficiency." Mac concluded.

"Nicely put, Major. Commander Rabb, you're up next." The Admiral looked next to Mac where Harm was seated.

"Well, sir, I know Commander Turner to be a by the book Naval officer and fine human being. His personality, would, in my opinion, make him a real asset to this office. Commander Turner has my support." Harm didn't like taking a side opposite Mac but choosing between Meg and Sturgis was tough enough. He knew in his gut that Sturgis was better for the office.

"One for Austin, One for Turner. Lieutenant Roberts, you're next." The Admiral looked down the table at Bud.

"Having worked with Lieutenant Austin, sir. I can't think of another person that would better fit the dynamic of this office." Bud had a soft spot for Meg. After all, it had been her recommendation that got him where he was.

"Alright, Ensign Sims, you're up." The Admiral looked at Harriet who was sitting across the table from her husband.

"Sir, if Commander Turner is the by the book officer that Commander Rabb and his record say that he is than I think his presence in this office would be invaluable. I think I'll support him, sir." Harriet was almost timid but Harm knew what she was getting at. This office could be a micro-manager's hell and Sturgis would certainly be one to help Harriet with that task.

The Admiral turned and gathered opinions from both Commander Imes and Commander Mattoni next. Imes supported bringing Meg back to JAG while Mattoni supported bringing Turner in. There was an even split. Three people had cast their lot with Lieutenant Austin and three had cast their lot with Commander Turner. The Admiral turned to his left where his Chief of Staff was fidgeting idly with his pen. "Looks like the Chief of Staff is going to make the final call on the newest staff member."

"I could cheap out and cast my lot with Brumby just to make the Admiral make the decision but in my experience, it's best to limit the loyalties of the office to just one country. I'm sure that Lieutenant Austin holds some very strong personal loyalties in this office but what we need is a senior investigator. I'm casting my lot with Commanders Rabb and Mattoni and Ensign Sims. I say we bring Turner aboard." Jim tossed his pen on to the legal pad that lay in front of him.

"That's the decision than. I'll call Norfolk and Commander Turner should be here by 1400 this afternoon. I trust that my Chief of Staff and Commander Rabb will do their best to bring Commander Turner up to speed when it comes to his place." The Admiral looked from Harm to Jim and then back to Harm.

"Aye, aye, sir." The two men replied.

"Good, then you all are dismissed." The Admiral got up from his chair and the staff followed his lead in leaving the staff call. As, was routine after staff call, Harm, Mac, Bud and Jim all congregated in Mac's office but there was the suspicion that cases were no going to be the topic of conversation.

"Sir, I thought you liked having Lieutenant Austin here?" Bud asked as he closed the door to the office.

"I did, Bud. Commander Turner is a better fit for what we need right now. You've done great filling the role that Meg filled while she was here. We don't need another junior officer at the moment." Harm protested as he took his seat.

"Bud, when we were all covering the case at LeJeune a few weeks back, we didn't have anyone here to send into the field to investigate if another investigation came up. With Turner here, we'll have that and that's the kind of senior officer we need." Jim added as he leaned up against the filing cabinet in Mac's office.

"I think that the two of you just wanted another drinking buddy." Mac quipped with a tone that was half playful but half serious.

"Any of you see the Delaporte special on ZNN, last night?" Bud was trying to change the topic of conversation.

"Yeah, that's gonna kick up a shit storm to rival any bronco stampede." Jim uttered.

"Feeling of ominous storm clouds gathering overhead." Harm stated in his best radio announcer imitation.

In his office, Admiral Chegwidden was in the middle of a meeting with Congresswoman Latham over the very report that was being discussed in Mac's office. "I trust that you saw the Delaporte story on ZNN last night, AJ?"

"Yeah but what does that have to do with my office?" AJ queried

"I'm convening the National Security subcommittee to conduct hearings into the Sarin gas allegations furthered by Mr. Delaporte. I need one of your people working on my staff for their military expertise and expertise in military law." Bobbi explained almost as if she'd prepared this conversation.

"And you want one of my people? I'm sorry Congresswoman but I'm not entirely enthusiastic about short-staffing myself to help you make points in the polls." AJ retorted with a fiery glint in his eyes.

"I need to get to the bottom of this, Admiral. I'm sure that you don't want to stand in between Congress and the truth on this matter. The press will scream 'cover-up'." Bobbi protested.

"Fine, I'll give you Colonel Grant. He's a Force Recon Marine, Medal of Honour winner; his expertise on this issue should be invaluable." The Admiral supplied.

"It would be, if Colonel Grant wasn't being called before the subcommittee for his testimony." Bobbi fired back.

"What do you mean; he's being called in front of the committee?" AJ rose from his chair.

"Colonel Grant, while he was still a Major, was the XO of all Marine Recon operations for allied forces involved in Desert Storm. He, along with his then CO, Colonel Cobb will both be called to testify in front of the committee." Bobbi smiled almost smugly.

"Fine, you can have Commander Rabb provided this does not interrupt with any of his pre-existing duties here at JAG." The Admiral offered.

"That doesn't give me much to work with, Admiral." Bobbi protested.

"Well you didn't give me much to work with by just barging in here, Congresswoman." AJ retorted and Bobbi stormed out of his office. "Tiner, get me Rabb and Grant." The Admiral let go of the intercom button and waited for his officers.

"Reporting as ordered, sir." Jim stated as he and Harm came through the Admiral's door.

"I trust that the two of you know about Delaporte?" He looked over and saw the two men nodding in the affirmative. "Congresswoman Latham was just in here telling me that she needs a military liaison for her congressional investigation into the reported incident. As per the usual way I dispense assignments, this dealt with Force Recon which meant that the ball went to Colonel Grant. She told me I couldn't do that; would either of you care to guess why?"

"Because I was the staff XO for all Special ops operations during Desert Storm and I will likely be called to testify as to my knowledge of the events." Jim stated plainly with an almost annoyed quality to his voice.

"That's right, so Commander Rabb has point on this one. After Commander Turner arrives after lunch and you two settle him in, Rabb, you're TAD to Bobbi Latham's staff on Capital Hill." The Admiral administered each of them his official 'CO' look before going into friend-mode. "As a side-note; Rabb don't piss off Latham any more than necessary this week. Jim, don't punch anybody on Capital Hill. You're dismissed."

"Never a boring day in this office." Harm stated as the two of them walked through the bullpen.

"I could do without my chain of command being accused of committing a war crime. But to each his own I suppose." Jim stated bluntly, with a controlled anger.

"We can't talk about this, we're on opposite sides of this investigation." Harm retorted.

"Harm, this is an investigation, there are no sides yet. Only congress would be so quick to draw lines, don't start thinking like a politician." Jim warned.

"Hey, who's more apolitical than me?" Harm questioned with a joking tone in his voice.

"The dead but they're funnier too." Jim shot back.

1700 ZULU

JAG HEADQUARTERS

FALLS CHURCH, VIRGINIA

Sturgis Turner was tall and confident as he carried a box full of office supplies toward the JAG bullpen. His first day at his new duty station. All he'd been told by Captain Fletcher at the Norfolk NLSO was that Admiral Chegwidden's staff had been impressed enough with his record to support transferring him in to their office to fill an empty position for a senior litigator and investigator. The first sight that caught Sturgis Turner's eye when he walked through the big glass doors at JAG were two rather striking women in Marine green.

They were striking for different reasons. The one woman portrayed the opposite picture of what a Marine Corps uniform normally lead one to believe. She looked graceful and feminine and too cute to be a Marine but if the fruit salad on her uniform was any indication, he probably shouldn't tell her that she looked too cute to be a Marine.

It was the woman next to her though, she caught Sturgis' attention more intently. There was something about her that was so familiar. He knew her, at least he thought he did. There were too many years that had passed since he'd seen her, really seen her. Last time she looked cold, lifeless……Diane! That's who she reminded him of but she didn't just remind him, this woman was a dead ringer.

"I wouldn't get too hung up, those women basically have 'look but don't touch' painted on them." Alan Mattoni stood next to Sturgis Turner.

"Excuse me, Commander?" Sturgis was startled out of his contemplation and he looked over at the man who was talking to him.

"The one on the left is Major MacKenzie, she's engaged to be married and the one on the right is Captain Harris, she's pregnant with the baby of your new Chief of Staff, Commander." Mattoni explained.

"Thank you for the update, Commander. Could you please just point me toward my new office?" Sturgis was getting a little annoyed with having been pummelled with the social aspect of the office after just having walked through the big doors for the first time.

"Petty Officer Tiner, here, will direct you, Commander." Mattoni motioned for Tiner who was walking across the bullpen toward them. When Tiner had reached Sturgis, Mattoni broke away from them and headed off on his own.

Tiner led Sturgis over to the office next to Jim's. Sturgis nodded to Tiner before opening the door to his new office only to find someone sitting in his chair which was turned away from the door. "You know, I never thought the bubblehead would surface and I certainly never thought he'd surface as a lawyer." The man said and Sturgis recognized the voice immediately. Harm turned in the chair toward the door. "How's it going, Sturgis?"

"Harm! Well, I guess I'm not going to get any work done in this office." Sturgis smiled as Harm got up and pulled him into a big bear hug.

"Don't worry about it, no work ever gets done in this office. I know that should be hell on your sensibilities." Harm joshed his friend. "It's been too long, man."

"Too damn long. Well this is your office, she's no room at the Ritz but…"Harm started and Sturgis cut him off.

"But she'll have to do. That's how I greeted you when you walked into our room back at the Academy." Sturgis and Harm laughed at the memory.

"The Chief of Staff should be in here any minute to help me bring you up to speed and than I got to split on up to the Hill for a while." Harm stated as he let Sturgis take the chair he had been previously occupying.

"This have to do with the Delaporte thing that I saw yesterday?" Sturgis suggested as he set his box down on his desk.

"You always were the perceptive one." Harm retorted. "There was one more thing I wanted to talk to you about quickly before we get interrupted by official business."

"You're pregnant and I'm the father?" Sturgis quipped with a smile.

"Very funny, I'm getting married." Harm announced and he saw Sturgis' eyes widen in shock. "And I need a groomsman."

"Of course. I…I...I just can't believe some woman was finally able to tame the great Tomcatting monster that was Harmon Rabb. When do I get to meet her?" Sturgis recovered from the initial shock.

"I suppose, you could meet her right now if you wanted to." Harm stated with a great enthusiasm. Sturgis looked puzzled; if his friend's fiancée was in the office than what was he doing here welcoming him?

"Sure, I think I've got a few stories I could tell her about our Academy days." Sturgis laughed as he got out of his chair.

"I think Keeter beat you that one." Harm remarked as they headed across the bullpen. They walked over to Mac's office where she had just gotten back from lunch with Angie and Harriet. Harm knocked on the door and opened it. "Mac, I brought our newest member of the senior staff over to say hello." Harm said with a smile as he opened the door.

_You've got to be kidding me_, Sturgis thought. Harm's fiancée was the dead ringer for Diane? Harm sure didn't make life simple that was for sure. "Sturgis Turner." Sturgis extended his hand almost hesitantly.

"Sarah MacKenzie but everyone around here, even flyboy calls me 'Mac'." She smiled as she shook Sturgis' hand.

"Flyboy?" Sturgis looked suspiciously at his friend. "She domesticated you that easily?"

"She's a Marine that makes her an overachiever." Harm replied with a shrug.

"She's also right here and would like to state that it was not that easy to domesticate him. I should take some time later to tell you about the murder charges, the Reprisal, Russia, Syria, the Teddy Roosevelt and the Sudanese Embassy." Mac laughed as she saw Harm roll his eyes.

"You two have just met and already you're ganging up on me. I shudder to think what will happen once Sturgis has been here for a while." Harm joked.

"I'll probably have more questions about how you managed to convince her to marry you." Sturgis replied.

"I know I'll never figure it out." Jim picked that minute to step into the office. Sturgis practically burst out of his seat and came to attention which caused Harm and Mac to laugh. "I think that's the first time somebody's done that since I've been stationed here." Jim laughed. "At ease, Commander."

"Alright, I suppose we should brief Sturgis on how things work around here. First off, buddy, the only person who always gets referred to by rank around here is the Admiral. Our cases and investigations are administered at a staff meeting every morning. Ensign Sims-Roberts is the office manager and her husband, Lieutenant Roberts, is our junior investigator." Harm started the explanation.

"Husband? How can they…" Sturgis started but Mac cut him off.

"The top of Harriet's chain of command is technically the IG, she's TAD to JAG." Mac informed him.

"A TAD with no foreseeable end?" Sturgis inquired like he was getting the drift.

"You've got it. We all work as a team unless we're going up against each other in court and even then there's a strong tendency in this office to work together for the sake of finding the truth rather than winning a case." Harm continued.

"Wait, I just have one question. I understand how the Admiral was able to juggle Lieutenant Roberts and his wife but what about you two?" Sturgis pointed indicating Harm and Mac. To be honest, it was something that they themselves were acknowledging in the back of their minds, if just.

"The Admiral and I are taking care of that one. We're in the process of pulling Alex Nelson's teeth to get dispensation orders for these two." Jim added, something which brought smiles to Harm and Mac's respective faces.

"Alright, I think that's it. I have to go meet Congresswoman Latham up on the hill for this inquiry into the Delaporte story. Sturgis, why don't you stop by the apartment for a welcoming dinner. Mac will give you directions, if you need them" Harm turned to leave the office.

"Sounds good, buddy." Sturgis shouted after Harm as he left the office.

"I have to go get ready for my testimony before the committee, so I've got the rest of the day's leave to work in my office on that." Jim turned out the door.

"So…where did you and Harm meet?" Sturgis turned toward Mac.

"The White House Rose Garden." Mac replied plainly.

"Seriously?" Sturgis looked surprised.

"Come on, we'll go talk to the Admiral, he'll tell you a few stories about Harm and I and in a few hours, that will be the least shocking thing you've heard all day." Mac and Sturgis got up and headed for the Admiral's office.

2415 ZULU

JAG HEADQUARTERS

FALLS CHURCH. VIRGINIA

Harm was due back very soon from the end of his first day of the inquiry with Congresswoman Latham. Mac and Sturgis had spent the entire afternoon and now the entire evening in the Admiral's office, where Mac and the Admiral filled Sturgis in on some of the escapades of the last three years. Jim had left the office around 4pm to go and retrace the events of that particular Desert Storm Special Ops mission with Colonel Cobb out in Leesburg.

A man had come into the office around 1900 that evening looking for Mac. Harriet told him that she was in conference with the Admiral and if he absolutely needed to talk to her, he could wait in her office. Jim came back into the office around 1945 and had gone straight to his office, after a few minutes there he decided to head over to the Admiral's office and get permission to secure for the day.

Years of wilderness experience and Recon experience tend to sharpen one's mind. If you've ever spent days tracking deer through the Tennessee woods you too would develop the nose of a bloodhound and that's exactly what God had given Jim Grant. One incredible proclivity for sensory perception. Walking through the bullpen, he was able to pick up on a familiar blend of smells and raked his mind for what they were and why they were stored in his memory bank. There was cheap hair glue, five dollar cologne and grime. "Ensign Sims, is there someone in Major MacKenzie's office?"

"Yes, sir, he came in about half an hour before you returned. The lights are off, how did you know someone was in there?" Harriet inquired.

"When a familiar presence is around it's like the displacement of water. Tensions raise and your senses become more aware, Ensign." Jim stated and anyone who knew his demeanour could notice the shift in his eyes. The hunter was back. "Ensign, I could tell you who's behind that door without opening it." Jim took off his green coat, garrison cap and his tie. He then proceeded to roll up the sleeves on his collared shirt. "Keep this under your hat." Was his last warning before he walked over to Mac's office and opened the door.

The darkness cloaked around the two figures in the room. The six-foot-three Marine Colonel knew what was about to transpire. He knew who the other person was in the room. He watched as the other man walked over to the light switch and flicked it upward. The other man was startled by the fact that he was standing in front of a Marine who had every intention to lay into him with his fists. "I never expected to see you here." The man stated plainly.

"I know that, I told you that if you came near her again I'd snap your neck in eight places. I'd make you hurt so badly that you'd wish you were dead and I wouldn't give you the mercy of killing you and guess what? My offer still stands." Jim's jaw was set firm as he stared down the other man.

"So Mr. Marine thinks he can stand between me and wife who's trying to divorce me? I got the papers she filed a few weeks ago. You're going to have to kill me because that's the only way you're going to stop me." The man spat.

"You think I won't, Ragle?" Jim shot right back. "I've killed men with my bare hands, I've done things in combat that you couldn't imagine, much less do and do you think that I would think twice about ending your miserable life on this spot, right now? Sign the papers, leave them on her desk and get out before I start breaking bones that you need!" Jim was careful not to raise his voice and attract the attention of anyone in the bullpen.

Ragle reeled back to take a swing at him but Jim was faster. After dodging the punch, Jim grabbed Ragle by the collar of his shirt and the waist of his pants and threw him headlong into Mac's filing cabinet. "I'm going to warn you one more time before you hurt yourself, again. Sign the papers, leave them on her desk and get out!" Jim had his foot firmly across Ragle's throat as he watched him squirm on the ground. Ragle pulled a knife from his pocket and jabbed it into the side of Jim's leg, cause the Marine to recoil and giving Ragle the necessary time to get up off the ground.

"Not so tough, are you Mr. Marine?" Ragle taunted as he got to his feet.

"You wanna see tough, boy?" Jim growled as he landed a hard right cross on Ragle's jaw. Jim landed a left jab followed by an uppercut to the jaw and Ragle went crashing through Mac's office door and out into the bullpen. He saw Ragle bleeding from his lip and nose. "Just give it up, I'm warning you." Jim taunted as he saw Ragle get to his feet.

Tiner had sprung into action, the second the fight crashed into the bullpen and he'd run in to get the Admiral, Mac and Sturgis. Ragle had gotten to his feet yet again and this time he tried to make a run at Jim but the Marine was too fast yet again. Before Ragle could get too close, Jim's arm lashed out and his hand gripped Ragle by the throat. It was the same kind of technique he's used when he was a boy to catch Copperheads. He hoisted Ragle in to the air, suspending him inches above the floor.

The Admiral along with Mac and Sturgis decided to pick this moment to enter the bullpen. The Admiral knew, in depth the tactic that Jim was using. His fingers were crushing the man's jugular, slowly, torturously and almost slowly killing him as they sent countless millilitres of blood into his mouth. He could see the man grasping for breath and pulsing for circulation as he watch Jim's grasp on his throat tighten. "Drop him, Colonel, that's an order!" The Admiral bellowed.

The Marine's demeanour changed yet again and the hunter was gone. Jim gave his head a shake and lowered Ragle to the ground. "What the hell happened here?" Mac demanded as she stepped forward.

"A friendly misunderstanding." Ragle spat, knowing himself to be every bit as in the wrong as the Marine who had thrashed him so thoroughly.

"Friendly, hell! If I hadn't ordered him down, they'd be wheeling you out of here in a body bag, son." The Admiral protested. "Colonel, my office, now!" The Admiral and Jim went into the Admiral's office and that action was promptly followed by the slamming of a door.

"Chris, what the hell are you doing here?" Mac demanded.

"I got the divorce papers. I know you're not serious, Sarah." Ragle drew himself in close to her. He was too close for comfort for one, Sturgis Turner. In lieu of Harm's presence, Sturgis took it upon himself to do what he knew Harm would do for him. He stepped between Mac and Chris.

"I think it would be best if you left." Sturgis warned.

"Wow, Sarah, I'm impressed. You've got almost every man here wrapped around your finger." Ragle taunted. "First the Marine, now the Navy man here and I already know about your Commander boyfriend." Ragle was snarling at Mac like some mad beast.

"Friend, I suggest you leave. I'm not a violent man but my father taught me not to let anyone get away with talking that way to a lady." Sturgis warned, he lorded his stature over Ragle.

"Oh, shut up! Who the hell are you to get involved in this anyway?" Ragle made possibly the worst mistake of the night by hitting Sturgis Turner right then. His punch sent Sturgis to the ground, sure but at that moment not only did Jim and the Admiral come out of the Admiral's office but Harm entered through the glass doors at JAG.

"I'll help Commander Turner. Rabb and Grant, you get that son of a bitch!" The Admiral commanded JAG like he was back on the bridge of a destroyer and his crew was on high alert. The Admiral went to examine Sturgis' nose. Harm Jim went after Chris like pit bulls that had been let off the leash. At this time of night, the JAG bullpen was practically empty so the incident was relatively contained. Harm's stride was longer and as a result he caught Ragle and tackled him to the ground. Jim was fast standing over the two men.

"Harm, go and be with Mac and the Admiral to help Sturgis. I'll take care of this situation." Jim stated through gritted teeth. Harm made a move to protest but Jim stopped him. "Consider it an order, Commander. One that, if necessary, I will issue a written copy of if you make me." Jim placed his foot on Chris' throat and Harm got up from the floor. Jim gave him a pat on the back before sending Harm back through the big glass doors and into the JAG Ops bullpen.

Jim grabbed Ragle by the collar and threw him up against the wall. "Alright, now if you want to be able to walk out of this building of your own volition, I suggest that you just sign the papers and get the hell out."

"Why the hell should I do anything you say?" Ragle spat at him.

"Because if you don't, I'll kill you and that will immediately nullify the marriage. So, you have two options, only one of which means you get to live and both of which immediately end this long-running sham that you call a marriage. Now, are you going to do this the easy way or the hard way?" Jim grip on Ragle's neck tightened.

He saw Ragle fight for the last ounce of composure he had in him before the inevitable came. Jim had seen the expression before, years of carving Marines told him when a man had reached his point and Chris Ragle had reached his point. He knew that there was no way he was walking out of this building with Mac and that there was only one way he was walking out of JAG Ops today.

"Why does she deserve to have a life without me!" Ragle demanded but it didn't take an expert in human behaviour to hear the last cries of a desperate man.

"Do you want me to go down the list of reasons? If you love her as much as you claim, you have to realize that she's happy with her life as it is. You're not a part of that. Sign the papers and make her happy." Jim almost sounded like he was making a closing argument.

"Why does she deserve to be happy!" It was evident, that Ragle was fighting a battle with himself that he couldn't win. Jim was trying hard to bear down on a man that only a decade earlier he had beaten to within an inch of his life but now, now he couldn't bring himself to be aggressive with him.

"Let her go, Ragle." Jim stated solemnly. Jim produced a pen and the divorce papers and handed them to Ragle. "Part of being a man, is knowing the fights where you have to throw in the towel. You can't win this one, no matter how hard you try." Ragle did, what had to be the only selfless act in his life, he took the papers from the Marine's hand and with a reluctance that was immeasurable, he signed them.

"Are you happy now?" Ragle spouted through gritted teeth.

"That's not the question. The question is, will she be happy? You and I both know the answer to that and if you love her as much as you claim to, that answer should satisfy you, even if the circumstances don't." Jim refuted as Ragle moved toward the elevator.

"Life sucks." Ragle stated as he stepped on to the elevator.

"Just think, you've still got grey hair and knee replacements to look forward to." Jim smiled sarcastically as the elevator doors closed and sealed Chris Ragle off from JAG Headquarters and the people therein. Jim took the now signed papers back into the bullpen of JAG Ops and handed them to Mac. "At least this time, it's official." Jim remarked with a smile.

"If I'd known better, it would have been last time." Mac sounded caustic as she looked at the paper in front of her.

"I hate to interrupt this cryptic moment, but would anyone care to tell _me_ exactly what's going on?" Harm looked from Jim to Mac.

"I think this is one for the Major to handle." Jim headed over to the side where the Admiral and Sturgis were gathered. The three men decided to head over toward Jim's office so that they wouldn't disturb two people that had a lot to talk about.

Harm rose to his feet, instead of the crouching position that he had previously maintained at Mac's feet. "What is it, Sarah?" He tried to comfort her amidst the confusion that was ravaging his mind. He looked over at the desk and saw the papers that Jim had handed Mac a few seconds earlier. "He was your husband." Harm stated with an almost defeated tone.

"That was a long time ago." Mac sounded every bit as beaten up inside as he did.

"Not according to these. According to these papers it was only a matter of minutes ago! Damnit, why didn't you tell me this? When did you file for these?" Harm's mind was starting to give way to some of the questions that were assaulting it.

"I filed for them just before Bud and Harriet's wedding. I didn't tell you because I've had a hard enough time over the last few months trying to believe that I'm good enough for you, being reminded of this sham of a marriage that, in my heart and mind ended more than a decade ago, wasn't exactly helping with that fact!" She protested as tears rose in her eyes.

"You betrayed my trust, Mac. Not with this," he held up the divorce papers, "I would have helped you through that. You betrayed my trust by not telling me about this and trusting me to help you through this." He crouched down and took her hands in his.

"Oh God, Harm, I'm so sorry." Mac pouted as she tried to recoil from his touch.

"It's okay, I just….I don't know, we've been doing so well lately, I guess something was bound to come up. I was hoping for a crazy cousin or maybe a sixth toe or something." Harm smiled to add levity to her mood.

"How can you let this go so easily? You have every right to be furious with me for not telling you about Chris, or any of this." Mac protested.

"Did you mean for any of this to happen? For your ex-husband to come back, any of it?" He looked into her eyes and saw her shake her head. "Sarah, I love you. It means more to me to have you in my life than risk life without you in it. I forgive you because I love you. Just like I know that you didn't mean for all this to blow up and even if it did, I know you would protect me for the same reason. Am I mad? Yeah, a little but I'll get over it. There are more important things in life than my anger. You've helped me realize that."

"Are you feeling alright? I was expecting an earful……. I don't deserve you." She tried to smile weakly but failed.

"Let's look at it from the positive angle. We finally got to see how Sturgis would act in a bar fight, your ex-husband got the crap beaten out of him by one angry Marine and you got the papers signed." He extended his arm to her to lift her up out of the chair.

"We still owe your friend a dinner to welcome him to DC." Mac pointed out.

"You're right, maybe you two will be able to help me out with this Delaporte thing, something doesn't quite smell right." The two of them walked arm in arm over toward Jim's office where Sturgis was waiting patiently to be taken to dinner.

1700 ZULU

NATIONAL SECURITY SUBCOMMITTEE

WASHINGTON DC

Jim took the stand after Colonel Cobb when the hearings kicked into full gear. When Bobbi Latham had called him to the stand, the whole thing reminded Harm of that scene from _A Few Good Men_ when Jack Nicholson's character was called to testify. All those in uniform in the hearing room were more than aware of Jim Grant's record and the mere mentioning of his name among the company in that room was met with reverence. The only person who seemed unfazed by the man about to step through the doors at the back was Harm who had come to know the man behind the stats sheet.

Harm could even tell that Bobbi Latham was a little spooked by the challenge she had brought to bear with this witness. Jim Grant was no dumb Jarhead from Podunk, USA; the man had a BA and LLD from Dartmouth. This was an all Ivy League match up of a Democrat and a Marine and Harm had a front row seat.

Jim's entrance reminded Harm of line that Neil Diamond had once written in a song about an evangelical preacher. The second the man stepped through the doors and lifted his face, every ear in the place was on him. "Thank you for joining us today, Colonel." Bobbi stated plainly.

"I'd respond in kind, but you interrupted my golf game." Jim replied with a sarcastic smile as Harm and even a few Congressmen repressed laughs. Harm saw a reply like that coming, he'd even coached Bobbi not to give Jim any leeway in which to demean her investigation but she did it anyway.

"This is a serious matter, Colonel!" Bobbi protested in a stern tone.

"You're absolutely right; the media has committed a travesty against the Marine Corps. Trust me, Congresswoman, I take that very seriously." Jim's voice carried an unusual gravely seriousness that was not characteristic of his normally pleasant slight southern drawl.

"So, you're going to sit there and tell me that this whole thing is one great big media hoax, is that it?" Bobbi was ready to fight for every inch in this tug of war.

"What I'm going to tell you, Congresswoman, is that the Recon Marines under my command during this campaign and any campaign in which I have served in a position of administration have never acted in anything less than the manner which is exactly what is expected from them by God, the American people and the United States Marine Corps. If we could get politicians to behave in the same way, maybe we wouldn't have military officers referring to Washington as the 'cesspool on the Potomac'." Jim was just firing up that no-nonsense, tough as nails Marine Corps sensibility of his.

"If that is so, Colonel, then why was Sarin gas suspected to have been used by the Marines during Operation Sirocco? Were they just living up to the example set by you and other officers in the Corps?" Bobbi Latham knew how to fire back as well as she was taking it.

"Congresswoman, since your sense of history seems to be leaving you; perhaps I should remind you that Saddam had been known to use toxic nerve agents on his own people. The Chemical Engineers in question could quite feasibly have been working with the agent and had their facilities compromised by regular bullets." Jim tossed back with his regular dramatic flare.

"What about reports that the Marines in question were carrying Sarin gas?" Bobbi inquired.

"No Marine, would carry Sarin gas under my orders or the orders of any Marine with half a brain rolling around under his crew-cut. It's a toxic nerve agent that if utilized improperly could unleash its effects on the carrier just as easily as it could the intended victim. My Marines were cleared to carry Tear gas, that's it." Jim leaned into the microphones.

"What about this CIA briefing, Colonel. Were you privy to the information in it concerning the three American chemical engineers in question?" Bobbi Latham held out the document and handed it to the Page who handed it to Jim who looked over the document.

"No, I was not privy to this particular briefing, Congresswoman. I can't see why it would matter, in any case." Jim looked up from the paper, at Bobbi and then without breaking his stare he handed the papers back to the Page.

"What would have happened if you had been privy to the information, Colonel?" Bobbi leaned over her microphone like a lioness that thought she had cornered a gazelle.

"Those engineers would still be dead, Congresswoman. We have to face the fact that there is no grey zone in combat and that is what our Marines were in that night; combat. Those engineers were Americans, helping a country that we were at war with, develop the means to harm American soldiers; it's just that simple and guess what? It doesn't take a Yale law degree to understand. Those engineers committed treason, plain and simple. The punishment for treason, which is death, was served upon them swiftly and my only regret is, that we are wasting our breath and taxpayer dollars discussing the proper fates of these so-called men." Jim's glare was intense, his lips were pursed and his teeth were gritted.

Bobbi was about to snap back at him when one her fellow Congressman jumped into the fray to interrupt the pending scrap. "Thank you, Colonel. That will be all." The Congressman smiled and Bobbi stepped back from her pedestal.

"We will dismiss for the day." Bobbi banged the gavel and dismissed the hearing. Harm and Jim got up from their seats and met in the hallway outside of the committee room. Harm had to admit, Bobbi Latham had made a critical mistake that a law student normally learns when they read Robert Jackson's examination of Hermann Goring. Even though Jim Grant certainly had more honour and credibility than Hermann Goring, that should have made him a more dangerous witness for Bobbi Latham. She still let him control the hearing, control her questions and as a result she had to dance to his tune.

"You manage to track down Sergeant Morrison?" Harm asked as the two men walked toward the Government Issue sedan waiting for them in the parking lot.

"Yeah, do you have Bud looking for the original mission tape of Sirocco?" Jim looked over at Harm as they burst through the doors.

"In the archives as we speak." Harm took the driver's seat of the car.

1930 ZULU

RAY'S BAR

WASHINGTON, DC

"We can't go in there in our uniforms." Harm protested as the two men got out of the car. "They'll close up like shrivelled clams."

"We don't need everyone to talk, just Morrison. If we can get Morrison to talk and we can get that video record that should be enough to cool Congresswoman Latham's jets." Jim smiled as they approached the door to the bar.

"Well, you did a pretty good job of deflating her ego today. Did you have to direct every caustic remark you could make, at her?" Harm sounded at least half-serious.

"Bobbi Latham is from the school of Democrats that believe that the military in general and the Marine Corps in particular are antiquated institutions of aggression, drunkenness, chauvinism and sadism. They think that their Ivy League educations and political status entitle them to pass judgement. When they butt heads with people just as educated but standing on the flip side of the coin, they tend to get a little nervous. You could sense, just as well as I could that Latham was nervous this morning. So, when she came at me, I came back with everything I could muster." Jim swung the door to the bar wide open. "After you."

The two men walked through the door and into the bar. The place was a dank kind of smoke-filled atmosphere with a few Miller beer lights hanging from the wall. The two officers did stand out like sore thumbs but there was no one that was willing to get aggressive with the two rather imposing figures. Harm walked over to the bar and motioned for the bartender. "You know a Clive Morrison?" The bartender pointed over Harm's shoulder to a solitary figure who was nursing a beer while sitting in a booth against the wall. "Give me three of whatever he drinks."

The bartender produced three bottles of beer from under the bar and handed them to Harm who handed one of the bottles to Jim. The two JAG officers walked over to the booth where Morrison was sitting. "You look like hell, Sergeant. You got out of the Corps to become a drunk?" Jim sounded as much like a CO as Harm had ever heard.

"Get off my back, Major." Morrison shot back and than realized what he'd said. He looked up and saw Jim standing over him. "Major?" Morrison clamoured out of the booth and almost succeeded in coming to attention.

"As you were, Sergeant. What happened to you? I thought you had the potential to really do something in the Corps, Morrison." Jim sounded disappointed.

"Sirocco, sir. I never thought I could lose that much of a team on one mission. They were all counting on me to get them out; now, I'm the only one left. Are you telling me that wouldn't get to you, sir?" Morrison responded as Jim and Harm took a seat in the booth across from him.

"Seen the news lately, Sergeant?" Harm asked as he pushed the beer bottle across the table.

"Not really one of my priorities, Commander." Morrison replied.

"They're talking about you and Sirocco. They say that your Marines used Sarin gas on that mission. They're accusing you and your men of war crimes." Harm stated as he pointed toward the television where Z-SPAN was in the middle of showing the highlights from Bobbi's questioning of Jim earlier in the day.

"Sir, we didn't use Sarin gas. Major….I mean, Colonel Grant here, could tell you that, he never would have allowed us to be equipped with it." Morrison sounded almost indignant. "What does that mean to me though, sir?"

"We want you to testify." Harm supplied.

"What good would that do, sir? Look at me; those politicians are going to see a drunk who they're not going to believe. My testimony won't do you a damn bit of good." Morrison almost sounded jittery.

"Sergeant, one of the great things about this country is that no matter who you are, you have a right to say your piece. You protected those rights during your time in the Corps. The Corps needs you again, what do you say, Sergeant?" Harm glared across the table and watched as Morrison's resolve steeled.

1600 ZULU

NATIONAL SECURITY SUBCOMMITTEE

WASHINGTON, DC

Sergeant Clive Morrison's testimony went much the way that he had predicted in the bar, the previous night. It looked like the evidence was fast mounting up against the Force Recon command that had gone ahead with Operation Sirocco. That was, until Bud had found the video account of the mission in the Naval archives. Harm now had the proof that he needed to prove that the Delaporte recording had been tampered with and that Operation Sirocco had in fact been run to the specifications that Colonel Cobb and Grant had outlined in their testimony.

"I call, Lieutenant Commander Harmon Rabb Junior to testify." Congresswoman Latham looked up from her microphone. Harm walked in from the hallway outside of the hearing room and took his seat behind the microphones. "Commander, you were attached to my staff in the early days of this inquiry, were you not?"

"Yes ma'am, I was." Harm replied with a smile.

"Why did you ask for separation from my staff, Commander?" Bobbi was keeping the question pro forma.

"With all due respect, I felt that the investigation was being conducted on the basis of the Marines already being guilty. Not enough was being done to try and investigate all sides of the issue." Harm supplied.

"So, you set out to get the truth. What did you come up with?" Bobbi knew that Harm was right. She had been working on this inquiry like the Marines were unruly dogs that needed her handling the choke-chain.

"Well, if I may?" Harm held up the tape in his hand and popped it into the VCR after getting approving nods from the members of the committee. "The Delaporte tape cuts off at eighteen minutes. The tape from the National Naval Archives is twenty-two minutes in length. Since we've already seen the first eighteen minutes of the tape, we'll focus on the part of the tape that was cut out of the aired version."

Harm pointed toward the television where the tape began to play the last four minutes of the tape. Harm stopped the tape at the point when the Marines were loading on to the Helo and the canisters on Sergeant Morrison's belt were visible to the camera that had been equipped with a night-vision feature. "Here we see clearly that the canisters which the door-gunner and Mr. Delaporte both mistook for Sarin gas are in fact marked 'CS' which as we all know, denotes Tear gas under military classification." Harm tossed a look that stated 'Gotcha, you SOB'.

"And you stated that this tape was retrieved from that National Naval Archives?" One of the Congressmen spoke into the microphone.

"Yes, sir." Harm replied as he returned to his seat.

"Thank you, Commander." Bobbi smiled, even if she had been in the wrong, at least justice was served and the idealist in her found some solace in that principle. "Tomorrow, my first witness will be Norman Delaporte, we're adjourned." Bobbi banged the gavel and the hearing was dismissed.

Harm got up from his seat and walked to the back of the courtroom where Jim was standing next to Sergeant Morrison and the two men were talking about the old days. "So, how was I?" Harm asked as he walked to the back.

"A showboat, as usual, but I've come to expect that from you." Jim replied with a wide smile.

"You wound me, Colonel." Harm stated with some mock hurt. "What's next for you Sergeant?" Harm turned toward Morrison who looked cleaned up compared to the man that he had encountered in the bar the previous day.

"With the Colonel's guidance, I've gotten into the rehabilitation centre at Bethesda and I'm seeing a shrink to deal with some of my issues, sir. The Colonel convinced me that, even though I'm not a Marine any more, I was once. That dignity, pride and honour still lives in me somewhere, sir. I've just got to find it again."

"Good for you, Sergeant. Sounds like you're well on your way." Harm gave the man a pat on the shoulder.

"Thank you, sir." Morrison seemed to almost smile. Bobbi Latham came walking over to them from her place behind what Jim had dubbed 'the bench of the Grand Inquisition'.

"Gentlemen." Bobbi acknowledged them all, then turned toward Jim. "Colonel, I believe, I owe you an apology."

"No, you don't owe me an apology. You owe the entire Marine Corps an apology, but I'll settle for you apologizing to Sergeant Morrison." Jim replied. Bobbi Latham didn't particularly like the idea of having to apologize to someone that she saw as less than her equal. It would have been one thing for her to apologise to Harm or Jim, they were well educated and highly respected but Morrison was a drunk.

"I would like to……apologize for my presumptions about you and your men, Sergeant." Bobbi almost choked on the words.

"No problems, congresswoman." Morrison replied and watched as a stunned and now humble Bobbi Latham left the hearing room and Morrison left soon after.

"You know, we have to be two of the craziest lawyers anyone's ever met." Jim admonished.

"Yeah, we've heard that a lot lately." Harm smiled and gave Jim a pat on the shoulder. "Come on, I told Sturgis that we'd meet him at McMurphy's for a beer."

"How's his nose? He took one nasty punch a few days ago." Jim showed a smile of his own as they headed toward the car.

"It's not bleeding any more. I think he's trying to adjust to how close-knit the group at JAG is though." Harm had a puzzled look on his face.

"That's just because he's never had to be bailed out of jail by Mac at five in the morning after getting arrested at a bachelor party." Jim and Harm laughed. "That was a real watershed moment for us."

"Well, with any luck, he'll get bailed out after my bachelor party." Harm tossed back.

"With what Keeter and I are planning, I'm not sure any sane judge will grant us bail." Jim replied which caused Harm to look very, very panicked.


	29. Speaking In Tongues

A/N: Yeah, I apologize that this took forever to update, but my computer was having problems with the page that allowed me to add chapters, as such, I couldn't do it.

There were days when AJ Chegwidden wished he could use Clayton Webb for target practice…for his throwing knives. Today, was just another one of those days. No sooner had AJ finished staff call, than Clayton Webb showed up in his office demanding two of his officers and requesting another for an op in Ramstein, Germany. The Admiral was just about to protest that JAG Headquarters was not a front for CIA recruitment when Clayton Webb showed the Admiral orders from the SECNAV, demanding the two required officers.

The Admiral told Tiner to summon Rabb, MacKenzie and Grant to his office for this meeting. Harm was the first to arrive at the Admiral's door, Mac and Jim were a few steps behind him. Harm opened the door and found Webb standing opposite the Admiral, in the large office. "Oh Christ! Webb's here!" Harm shouted back at Mac and Jim.

"You've got to be kidding me! How many times does the Admiral have to break his nose this year?" Jim stated caustically as he and Mac caught up with Harm.

"At least one more, I think." Mac chuckled as the three of them walked into the officer. "What is it this time, Clayton? Terrorist Keebler elves turning your briefs into tea biscuits?" Mac's comment was enough to garner laughs from her JAG colleagues.

"Good one, ninja-girl." Harm whispered.

"Thanks, flyboy." Mac whispered back.

"Alright, that's enough making fun of Agent Webb, there'll be plenty of time for that later. He has an assignment for you, well two of you, Commander Rabb, your participation in this operation is completely optional but the Colonel and the Major are necessary for its success." The Admiral informed them.

"I'm going." Harm stated plainly.

"Put your hand up if you didn't see that coming?" Jim looked around the room.

"That'll be enough, Colonel." The Admiral sounded corrective.

"Yes, sir. So, what's up, Webb?" Jim had what the office had dubbed his 'big, stupid, Irish grin' working on his features.

"American Marines are suspected in a weapons trafficking ring out of Ramstein. The Colonel's fluency in German, French and Spanish will be a great asset on this mission because we don't know who the Marines are trafficking to. We've narrowed it down to Spanish Basques, French Algerians who likely have contacts to Mujahadeen or Islamic Jihad or Iranians working for the Ayatollah and the government of Iran, itself. If that is the case, the Major's Farsi comes in handy.

The problem arises with the Black Marketeers. We have two Russians and a German, running the middle man service on this one. Günter Lackenbauer, this guy has a better relationship with the Interpol Most Wanted charts than the Beatles and the Billboard charts. Drugs, guns, sex, people, if you can sell it, he can find you a buyer. Then we have two Russian brothers; Yuri and Vladimir Korsikov, the front for their operations is a caviar conglomerate that just happens to have a branch plant outside of Ramstein." Clayton Webb finished the back-story of his op.

"Alright, so aside from our language qualifications, why are we handling this? Why not the Company or someone from Marine counter-Intel?" Harm inquired.

"No one from the Company is able to get close enough to this thing without setting off alarms and Marine Intelligence has there nose so far into African and Arab bio-terrorism right now that anti-personnel explosives and submachine guns aren't exactly at the top of their priority list." Webb explained. "Here's the sell. Harm and Jim are going to pose as former Marines who are now big time American arms dealers. Your covers require the two of you to be brothers, so keep that in mind when you address each other, these two are going to be sniffing around for rats and if their doubt creeps above thirty-five percent, the two of you will be lucky to get out of this one in one piece. As for Mac, she'll be playing Harm's wife and basically, she's there for the purposes of being a Russian and Farsi translator and because I would like a sheriff for you two cowboys." Clay remarked with a sarcastic grin. "Here are your covers." Webb handed them the folios.

"Paul Bishop, Forty-one. Last rank: First Sergeant. Born and raised in Lubbock, Texas." Jim read the basic information for his personality aloud.

"Evan Bishop, Thirty-four. Last rank: Staff Sergeant. Born and raised in Lubbock, Texas." Harm read his basic info aloud as well.

"Zara Bishop, Thirty. Born in Tehran, Iran. Moved to America at age three, raised in Los Angeles. Met Evan while he and Paul were stationed at Camp Pendleton." Mac closed her profile.

"You three are going to have to fly commercial into Frankfurt. The Company has spread the word around Ramstein that big American arms dealers will be in town, so if you're seen flying into Ramstein on a military transport or just seen flying into Ramstein at all, it would send up too many red flags. You two have to look and sound like professional arms dealers. Harm and Jim, the two of you are going to have to undergo a little costuming to alter your appearances slightly. First, we're going to need facial hair, so quit shaving, second the two of you are going to have to change your hair colours and we're going to have to sync up your eye colour, the two of you have to look as familial as possible." Webb hadn't so much as blinked during his explanation, that's how focused he was.

"Alright, but that still leaves out one question, Webb. How are we going to get our hands on the weapons that these guys want? I know NATO has the stockpiles at Ramstein, but it's not like we can just walk in there and take it without raising some suspicions." Harm stated, he was sick of agreeing to Webb's little tangents only to find one base not covered.

"We have a man on the inside, we borrowed him from Naval Intelligence, actually." Webb had this look of smug satisfaction on his face.

"Sense of impending doom." Jim stated in an ominous voice.

"You're undercover contact at Ramstein will be Commander Lucas Horton but you all would probably know him best as Jack Keeter." Webb supplied.

"Keeter knows about this? Why do I get the feeling that one of us is going to get shot?" Mac sounded surprised by Clayton's recruitment.

"I've already been shot on one of your ops this year, Webb, you think you can spare us this time?" Jim whined.

"Are you three quite finished?" Webb inquired.

"I think so." Harm replied glibly.

"Alright, Keeter will be your contact; he'll be able to get his hands on whatever they're looking for. The Marines that we suspect are involved with Lackenbauer and the Korsikovs should make contact with you either because they see you as competition and they'll try to eliminate you or because they want to work with you. Remember, you're supposed to be the big guys on the block, so you're being outfitted with the best of everything. BMWs when you land, first class plane tickets, Armani suits, Rayban sunglasses, from head to toe; you will look the part of experienced and well connected arms dealers. These guys will not want to mess with you, so the chances are that they will contact you, to work with you and get you into the stockpiles that they've been using." Webb looked at the three officers.

"The same goes for Mac, the best of everything will be thrown on the three of you for this trip. The Company believes that if we can bring in Lackenbauer and the Korsikovs, we can cut out the middle men for the biggest arms purchases funnelling into the Middle East and western Africa, in the last decade. Alright, now when was the last time that either of you shaved?" Webb asked, already working on their disguises.

"A few days ago." It was evident, there was a light beard covering Jim's face, shaving had never been one of his priorities, something which consistently brought him into conflict with Marine Corps regulations.

"This morning." Harm replied, that too was obvious, Harm always looked clean shaven.

"Alright, Rabb, you can't shave until the mission is over. As it is, I have to take the two of you down to Langley now and put our costuming experts to work on you. You two cannot look like yourselves because it would take nothing to get photo recognition of yourselves as you are." Webb proceeded to escort the two gentlemen out of the room.

"Sounds like we're going in deep again, sir." Mac stated as she noted that AJ Chegwidden was staring out the window behind his desk.

"Nothing you haven't handled before, Major. Terrorists, thugs, renegade Marines and spies. Hell, that's a standard week around here, isn't it?" The Admiral joshed as he turned back toward her.

"Normally, sir, we're not dealing with some of Interpol's biggest enemies though. Small timers are nothing to dispose of, but we're sending two Marines and two aviators up against a very well developed crime syndicate with contacts from Baghdad to Berlin. I know Jim and Harm, sir, when they feel like David fighting Goliath, they start getting punchy." Mac tried to sound foreboding.

"Punchy, Major?" The Admiral inquired.

"Like trapped animals, sir. When they're backed into corners, they lash out and not always in the most logical fashions. That's why they took on a compound full of terrorists with only four other men and nothing but pistols and submachine guns." Mac referred to the incident earlier in the year in Syria.

"As I recall, Major. Those two were able to get you out relatively unscathed and kill pretty much every terrorist in that compound." The Admiral countered.

"Yes, sir. And I don't doubt that if they were just being soldiers on this, that whatever forces they encountered would be hard pressed, but they have to act parts here, sir. I'm not sure that either of them is enough of a spook to pull it off." Mac tried to explain.

"Major, the man you love and a dear friend of yours are, along with you, about to try and force the hands of three of the world's most powerful black marketers. If I did not have every confidence that they could pull this off, I would have counselled them to resign their commissions rather than risk their lives foolishly." The Admiral sounded fatherly. "They'll make it Mac, God doesn't have it in him to kill those two yet, they're his favourite source of entertainment."

The two of them shared a laugh and Mac slowly turned and left the Admiral's office. At Langley, that day, Harm and Jim had to sit through several hours of what Clayton Webb termed 'costuming'. First off, Harm had to have his hair died jet black. The stylists then had to craft a wig for Jim. A Marine style crew-cut would be rouse suspicions. The stylists than moved on to the eye colour, they had to pick contact lenses with a colour that was different from either of their original eye colours. In that spirit, a deep brown was selected. They then had to have extensive measurements taken so that their suits would fit to perfection.

"Webb, just tell me that they aren't going to buy our suits wherever they buy yours." Harm stated as the tailor was measuring his inseam.

"Where do they buy his suits, Harm?" Jim inquired as his tailor was taking the measurement of his waist.

"The Wal-Mart children's department." Harm quipped and the two men laughed.

"You two are a regular Abbot and Costello. Now can you quit with the snide remarks and realize that you're here because we need you." Webb tried to bring down the levity.

"Nyet!" Jim stated emphatically.

"That's Russian, you're supposed to be our German speaker, remember?" Harm smiled and watched nod in affirmation.

"Richtig, Nein!" Jim looked back over at Harm.

"That's better." Harm nodded his approval.

"What are the two of you, six?" Webb questioned. "Can you stop acting like kids and serious up, this is a very important job. You've got more high-ranking eyes watching your progress on this than there were waiting on the success of the D-Day landings!" Webb informed them with an intense urgency.

"Webb, do the people at Marine counter-Intel know about the details of this mission?" Jim inquired as his tailor had finished with his measurements and had set off to find the appropriate apparel.

"A briefing crossed Colonel Gauthier's desk about an hour ago. I'm sure his senior staff will be made aware. Why is that important?" Webb inquired, his eyebrows perked.

"You know, Webb, for a spy, you have a lousy knack of not getting the complete picture when you charge into something." Harm moved toward Clay. "If you had looked into it, you'd realize that until the Colonel gets back from Germany, you're going to have one very emotional pregnant Marine, calling you daily."

"Shit, I hadn't even thought about Captain Harris. She could always call Harriet, right?" Webb panicked, it was one thing to deal with regular Marines but highly-decorated, pregnant Force Recon Marines were a different story.

"Harriet's not going to be able to give her any information, Webb. I'd really hate to be you for the next little while, especially if you so much as utter the words 'need-to-know'." Jim was struggling to repress laughter. "She's been pretty good lately, so your chances of dying are small. But she's been crying a lot and even I don't know how to handle that. Have fun, Clayton." Jim gave him a pat on the back.

"You have to deal with angry Russians and Germans; I have to deal with a hormonal pregnant Marine, how did I get the worst of this deal?" Clayton joked, finally falling into the rhythm that the other two men were good at establishing.

"Just, take good care of her, Clayton. I know that the Admiral, Harriet, Bud and Sturgis will do all they can but you can never have too many helping hands." Jim smiled and shook Clay's hand. "You know, you can be a real pain in the ass sometimes, but you're a damn decent guy more times than not."

"Thanks, Colonel, I always thought that you kind of…well, hated me I guess." Webb started to sprout a smile.

"After Syria? Hell, Clayton, you're a brother in arms. You had mine and Harm's back on that trip and I'd find it hard as hell to have anything but respect for you after that." Jim walked passed him toward the door. "We're done here, today, right?" He asked before joining Harm in the parking lot.

After their drive on the beltway they were able to pull the jeep up to the building North of Union Station. "When I went through law school, I thought my days of chasing down international arms dealers were over." Jim quipped.

"In the Marines? You were dreaming in Technicolor. Something about this doesn't smell right, buddy. I don't know, I mean, I've gone off into the sky to chase down MiGs and I haven't felt the kind of nerve-rattling apprehension that I feel right now." Harm just couldn't put his finger on it; there was something about this op that made him jittery, that was unsettling his normally stalwart bearing.

"Square up, Navy. We're the Duke Boys, remember? Doc Halladay and Wyatt Earp, ain't no one or nothing alive that can stop us when we kick up a stampede." Jim sounded like the homespun southerner he was when he tried to inspire confidence.

"We also take uncalculated risks when we're backed into corners and have a tendency to do things which border on damn foolish, no matter how heroic they may turn out to be." Harm countered.

"True, but no one ever expects you to do something completely stupid and off the wall, that's why our plans usually work. Element of surprise, my boy." Jim slipped into his best Sherlock Holmes impression.

"You mean like bursting through the front door of a terrorist training camp?" Harm insinuated as they walked into the building.

"Precisely, most people would've expected a 30-30 insertion or something. We had to act more like a SWAT team than military men on a mission. We'll all get through this, Mac's going to keep us in line, she always does, right?" Jim joked, but the seriousness was creeping up on him as well.

"Yeah, right." Harm joked. "I have to ask, I think because of what's going on in my own life. How do you do it?" Harm looked up at his friend.

"How do I do what?" Jim responded.

"Raise kids, have a family and balance being the family man with the side of you that is all duty and thrills for the hunt." Harm inquired.

"I never had parents, not in the traditional sense. I was raised my Uncle Peter and my aunt Mary along with my grandfather. With both of my parents gone, it was easy for me to resolve to be a father that my father never could be. The problem was that my grandfather and my uncle Peter would tell me all these stories about my uncles, the famous Marines and I was weaned on the adventures and legends of the Marines in World War Two and Korea. So you see, the two parts of me that you think I balance, I've been balancing for most of my life." Jim saw the elevator doors open. "It's not easy, and you'll torture yourself at times, but if you're strong, you can do it too."

"Alright, let's get in there." Harm smiled as he opened the door to the apartment to find Mac, Angie, David and Sturgis waiting for them.

"Dad, dad, look what Uncle Sturgis taught me!" David came rushing over to his father and when he stopped at Jim's feet, he stuck out his tongue and pulled upward on his eyelids. Jim chuckled a little and then looked up Sturgis.

"You had to teach that to my son?" Jim asked trying to sound serious.

"You're just lucky that he didn't teach him out to burp the phonetic alphabet." Harm quipped and Sturgis tried to look offended.

"Hey! I haven't done that since the Academy!" Sturgis protested. "Besides, you two should be nice to me, I was the one who had to hang out with three Marines after work."

"Is there a problem with that, Mr. Turner?" Jim asked as he sat next to Angie on the couch.

"When one is eight, one is pregnant and the other is engaged, it's a little like being the T-Bone in the lion's cage." Sturgis joked.

"We don't need a babysitter, we're not going to break." Mac protested.

"Alright, you're right, and I know you're a Marine and you're perfectly capable of handling yourself, that's why you're going with us to Ramstein." Harm supplied as he gathered Mac up in his arms.

"Ramstein?" Angie questioned in an emotion that Jim couldn't identify. He'd been cautious about labelling any of her emotions since she'd become pregnant.

"American Marines involved in trafficking, shouldn't take too long." Jim replied almost stoically.

"That was too ambiguous, what are you hiding, soldier-boy?" She asked with a warning tone. "Why do I have a feeling that Webb is involved in this?" Jim expression betrayed him. "I knew it! Why does he keep turning to JAG, if Marines are involved shouldn't people under my command be handling this?"

"Marine Intel had their chance, Webb said that Gauthier had his head too far up his ass about this bio-terrorism trail. So, Mac, Harm and I are going in to this thing." Jim explained to her.

"Don't forget Keeter!" Harm called over from the kitchen.

"See, I've got plenty of people watching my back. I'll be fine." He kissed her forehead.

"Alright, you and your screwed up sense of duty, why do I put up with you?" She smiled cutely.

"You like the way I look in cammies?" Jim pulled her close to his side as David attached himself to his father's leg.

"That must be it. I'm guessing that I can plan on seeing more of Sturgis and the Admiral in the time you're away. I don't know why you think I need a babysitter." Angie's tone had shifted like eight times while she was talking.

"Let's see, you're over four months pregnant and you're trying to take care of an eight year-old boy, baby girl, you're going to need help. That's why the Admiral, Sturgis and Webb have all kindly volunteered to help." Jim smiled.

"That's right." Sturgis affirmed as he brought Jim a beer from the fridge.

"Webb? He won't help; he'll just drive me into a mad homicidal rage." Angie responded.

"You're lucky that you're pregnant, a jury will let you off no problem for killing Webb in your condition." Harm joked with a wide smile. "So, how do we look?" Harm inquired as he and Jim stood next to each other.

"Enough alike to pass for brothers but not enough alike to fool those who know you best." Mac stated plainly. "You two might actually pull this off."

1000 ZULU

CIA HEADQUARTERS

LANGLEY, VIRGINIA

"Alright, you have your wardrobes and all your necessary information. We managed to pull off one detail last night that I think you'll be pleased with. Instead of flying commercial to Frankfurt, you'll be flying chartered; we've got a Leer for you. It's waiting on the tarmac at Dulles." Webb informed them as they handed them their luggage. "I'll be in Ramstein a few days after you establish contact. Good luck."

"Darf ein Franzose in dem Milch spucken." Jim replied with a wide smile.

"What the hell does that mean?" Webb looked at Mac.

"May a Frenchman spit in your milk." Jim stated as he fixed the CIA issue Rolex watch around his wrist.

"Is that some kind of good luck proverb in Germany?" Webb inquired.

"Since when has anything about the French, been good luck in Germany?" Harm remarked as they headed away from Webb toward their car. The drive from Langley to Dulles was short and silent. Everyone knew what this was heading into it but no one was willing to talk about it. True to his word, Clayton Webb had a Leer jet sitting on the tarmac for them.

There is no telling exactly how much expense the CIA went to, in order outfit Harm and Jim's respective wardrobes for this trip. There was nothing, casual or formal, in their wardrobes that wasn't made by some high-end designer. The same went for their cars when they would be landing in Germany. Harm and Mac, playing the family, were given the more family suitable BMW while Jim, playing the single man, was given the Porsche.

"I still can't believe that they're going to give you the Porsche, how is that fair?" Harm protested. "I've seen you drive, you're going to get yourself killed before you ever make it to Ramstein."

"I object to that statement, I'm a fine driver." Jim protested as they stepped on to the private jet.

"In a humvee, maybe." Harm countered. From this point out, there was no Harm, Jim or Mac. They referred to each other by the names provided to them in their covers, they were Paul, Evan and Zara. If the occasion called for it, Harm or Jim would refer to each other as 'brother' or any other fraternal nicknames, mature or otherwise. Harm would refer to Mac by terms of endearment which really was no change and Jim would refer to her by name or by 'sis'.

Soon the jet was taxing down the runway and carrying them off, over the Atlantic to Germany and an encounter with some rogue Marines and three of the world's most dangerous men. Jim opted to catch some sleep on the flight while Harm and Mac just spent the time talking.

"So, Zara," Harm was trying to get into character, "We've never done the Mile High Club thing." He made no effort to hide his grin.

"Now is not the time to think with that part of your anatomy, Evan." Mac replied with her own coy smile.

"I can't help it around you, Zara." Harm replied with a perked eyebrow.

"You do tend to get like this when we go on trips. First, there was Naples…" She started but he cut her off.

"I was without you for weeks before that; surely you can't count that one." He fired back.

"Even so, then there was Moscow." She replied.

"Also not my fault, Russia's cold and you wore a slinky white nightgown. I'm only human and male, therefore, I'm bound to have certain weaknesses." He stated in a very proper way.

"Since when does your cover call for you to sound so aristocratic, Mr. Bishop. I thought your brother was the educated one." Mac took on her best high-class mannerisms.

"Sometimes it rubs off on me. I'm just supposed to be the brawn of the operation, remember. Nothing compared to the genius of the operation, the great Paul Bishop." Harm pointed across the plane at Jim who had his head lulled back and his mouth open, snoring in his sleep.

"Well, they say Einstein had troubles finding his way home when he walked to the post office. I guess it's acceptable for a genius to snore." Mac quipped.

"I don't snore do I?" Harm asked her with an innocent expression.

"Only when you're sexually frustrated." Mac tried to repress a laugh when she saw an expression on his face that told her that he was less than amused. "Kidding, you need to learn how to take a joke, Evan."

"You shouldn't do that to my ego, Zara." Harm was really getting into the playful spirit of this undercover thing.

"I promise to be a good little wife, from here on out." Mac raised two fingers in a Boy Scout pledge.

"Just don't lose that feisty woman I fell in love with." Harm quickly nipped her lower lip.

"Get a room!" The two of them could hear the Marine Colonel mutter in his sleep.

"Always the Marine, even giving orders in his sleep." Harm took on his best 'Proud Papa' voice.

1700 LOCAL

RAMSTEIN AIR BASE

RAMSTEIN, GERMANY

"I've decided, Evan." Mac stated as Harm pulled the car into the base.

"What's that, Zara?" Harm was doing his best to play up his character.

"Driving through the country, I've made a decision. I want our ceremony to be held in a nice meadow or field or something, maybe with a few goats." Mac chuckled at the concept. "We can keep the reception as a big party but let's keep the ceremony private."

"You are the sentimental one." Harm smiled. "But I already told you that I would do anything in my power to make you happy."

"You spoil me." She smiled seductively.

"You've earned it." He replied. The two of them watched as Jim pulled up next to them in the Porsche with Keeter riding in the shotgun seat.

"Zara, Evan, you know Commander Horton." Jim motioned as he hopped out of the car.

"Of course, how are you, Commander?" Harm pulled Keeter into a bear hug.

"Heard about the engagement, congrats, buddy." Keeter whispered quickly.

"Thanks, I need a best man, though." Harm replied with equal speed.

"You got it." Keeter stated as he pulled out of the hug. "Alright, let's go back to your hotel and I'll update you on the situation." Keeter hopped into the Porsche and took the driver's seat.

"You're letting Horton drive?" Harm remarked.

"Yeah, he should get a cheap thrill from it. After all the thrills he gets from the women here may be worth it, but they're not cheap." Jim commented as the Porsche pulled away. Harm and Mac followed in the BMW and after a few minutes on the local streets they were pulled into the parking lot of what was a very nice, very classy and surely, very expensive hotel. After checking in with the desk clerk, the party of four made their way up to the suites that were located on a few of the uppermost floors.

Harm and Mac walked into a suite that was bigger than both of their apartments…put together. Most of the books and the TV did them no good because neither of them could understand a word of German. Jim was getting set up in the suite next door and then he was coming over with Keeter to talk about what this op was going to entail. After a few minutes of turning their hotel suite into a livable space, Harm and Mac settled and Keeter came through the door with Jim in tow.

"Alright, the biggest rumour running through the underground grapevine this week has been all about you two." Keeter pointed to indicate Harm and Jim. "Your arrival here and the information that was leaked as you two pinned as the biggest arms dealers west of Israel. Lackenbauer and the Korsikovs arrived in town last night just under the speculation that you two would show up today."

"Well, it's good to be noticed." Harm quipped.

"Two junior officers are running the operation that we're looking into. Lieutenant Hughes and Captain Moritz, they're not the best of Marines but there's nothing on their sheets that would lead anyone to suspect anything. Scuttlebutt today said that they were itching to meet the two of you." Keeter quirked an odd grin.

"We've got to get them and the middle-men together at the same time. How do we get the buyers to meet us? I know that they're going to want to keep the paper trail as long as humanly possible to avoid getting nabbed." Jim stated as if he'd hit the Achilles heel of the argument.

"The scuttlebutt was pretty powerful, rumours are that Paul Bishop only deals with people face to face. Some of the local children have heard that you can eat souls." Keeter joked. "They'll be here."

"Alright, standard codes for the merchandise?" Jim inquired.

"King Antonios, Mister Innsbrucks and Happy G-men." Keeter replied with fixed expression.

"Would anyone care to elaborate on this code?" Mac asked quietly.

"King Antonios are AK-47s, Mister Innsbrucks would be the M16 and Happy G-men would be Hand Grenades. Alan Parson's Modifiers would be…" Harm interrupted Jim's explanations.

"Anti-Personnel Mines, got it." Harm nodded his head.

"Congratulations, you just passed Arms Trafficking 101; we'll survive the next few days as long as we remember a few things. We trust no one who isn't in this room, right now. Your names as they know you are your names as you will call each other; from what I've heard, you've been pretty good with it so far. Lastly, check your baggage at the door, this mission isn't supposed to be for the faint of heart. We clear?" Keeter looked around and saw four nodding heads. "Good, contact should be expected inside the next twenty four hours, I suggest you all grab some sack time."


	30. The Family Business

A/N: Alright, short of asking a Russian professor here, I did everything possible to try and find English-to-Russian translations that didn't require me to read Cyrillic, I failed.

Germany was more pleasant this time around for the two members of the JAG team that had previously visited the country. For Harm, this trip was a nice step up from being in a hospital bed in Landstuhl. Of course, he was loving the fact that part of his cover meant that he had to sleep with Mac. Harm didn't remember much about Landstuhl but Ramstein didn't look all that different. He stood out on the balcony in the golden bathrobe that had been given to him in the wardrobe that the CIA had provided them with. He looked at Mac who was sprawled out on the bed, sleeping peacefully. The morning sun burst through the open balcony doors and danced across her gorgeous olive skin. Harm would have thought this to be an adventure in paradise, were it not for the real reason he was here.

In his suite next door, Jim Grant was sitting in his own bathrobe, a royal blue one and reading the morning paper. One of the many benefits of understanding the language of the country that you were in, was that you could actually do things that the active citizenry would do. He'd decided against going for a run, instead he relegated himself to some intense callisthenics in the confines of his room and then a quick shower. He knew how contact was going to have to be made, the same way that it was always made in these situations. There was a restaurant, a bar or some other public place where the crowds gathered where contact would be established and it would look like nothing more than a simple exchange.

At 1155 local, Jim put on one of the suits that Webb had picked out for him. It was a blue Ralph Lauren suit that was tailored to perfection. Webb had taste, Jim would give him that. He finished off dressing by donning one of the pairs of designer sunglasses that Webb had selected. Webb had left a note with the sunglasses in an attempt at humour. _'These sure beat those wire jobs that you wear, huh?' _He did the right thing and incinerated the note before leaving his room at just after 1200. Jim stood in the hallway, and looked down the hall at Harm and Mac's door.

He didn't need them to make the initial contact, chances are that it would be Lackenbauer that would approach him. Germans were particularly friendly with their own kind, in a German crowd, Lackenbauer wouldn't stand out, but the Korsikovs would. Jim knew that Harm would be more than indignant about being left out of the initial meeting and he knew that Mac wouldn't be too pleased with it either, but something's were best left to the fewest people possible and it didn't get any less than one.

He headed to the elevator and down into the lobby of the hotel. He walked up to the front desk to get the information that he needed in the form of a question that any tourist would ask. "Entschuldigen Sie, Frau. Was Restaurant ist sehr volkstumlich?" (Excuse me, miss. What restaurant is very popular?)

"Der Pilot Hangar." (The Pilot Hangar) The woman behind the counter replied.

"Danke." (Thank you) Jim turned and headed out of the hotel. The name of the restaurant made sense. Ramstein Air Base was a major German NATO contribution, it only made sense that certain establishments would play off of that fact. He hopped in his car and drove to the restaurant. It didn't take a genius to find it either. The popular places in Europe tended to follow a 'Field of Dreams' philosophy; if you build it, they will come. All Jim had to do was go where the people were. He hopped out of his car and followed a pretty steady stream of people into the restaurant.

He walked up to the hostess like a man on a mission, largely because he was just that. "Fur eins, Fraulein." (For one, Miss) He stated plainly and the waitress guided him over toward the bar. Jim took a seat on the stool and turned to survey the place. It was a stereotypical tourist trap. It looked just like any ignorant American would expect a German beer hall to look right down to the liederhosen and beer.

"Ein Bier, bitte."(One Beer, please) Jim motioned to the man behind the bar. The man slid a beer down the bar to him. Jim pulled a copy of the local paper out of an inside pocket on his jacket and continued reading it as he nursed his beer. A tall, athletic, dark haired man took over the stool next to Jim.

"Ist Ramstein ihr gefallen?" (Do you like Ramstein?) The man asked. Jim knew this had to be contact. No one tended to just ask random question.

"Ich vorziehe Barcelona oder Biarritz." (I prefer Barcelona or Biarritz) Jim countered as he raised his beer to his lips.

"Du reist mit dem Bruder, ja?" (You travel with your brother, yes?) The man's delivery of the line was cool and collected, almost rehearsed. "Wo ist er?" (Where is he?)

"In dem Hotel mit ihm Frau." (In the hotel, with his wife) Jim turned on the barstool toward the man who was talking to him. It was in fact, Gunter Lackenbauer, just as he looked in the picture that Webb had shown him. He was sporting a most confused look at Jim's latest comment; almost as if he didn't understand what could be more important than this meeting. "Frischvermahlte." (Newlyweds.) Jim stated curtly and watched as a wave of understanding overcame the German.

"I must commend you on your German, Mr. Bishop. Remarkably few grammar mistakes and only the tiniest trace of your Texas accent." Lackenbauer smiled slightly as he extended his hand.

"It has been a while since I have had the pleasure of coming to Germany. I believe that the last time was Oktoberfest back in '92." Jim was happy to be conducting business in English; speaking German was hell on his phlegm production.

"Then you have missed out on much. I suppose that you were busy in the old Bloc after the wall came down however." Gunter Lackenbauer spoke English with a proper aristocratic flare and a notably German efficiency.

"The trade coming out of the Bloc was good, but my informants tell me that the centre of my business will soon be moving south and east, I must shift my business accordingly. I am told that you have some buyers for me. If I were to know who, it could save me from having to disturb my lovely sister-in-law only to use her translating talents." Jim was trying to play right to the heart of the matter.

"I have heard of your direct approach, Mr. Bishop. What you have not anticipated is that I am holding all of the cards in our little game. If you walk, I have local suppliers whom I can turn to." Lackenbauer tried to sound high and mighty.

"But obviously they are incapable of supplying what you require, Mr. Lackenbauer." Jim countered.

"What makes you believe that?" Lackenbauer looked as though man's gaze had stripped his arrogance clean.

"Because if they were as capable as you make them out to be, you wouldn't be here talking to me." Jim smiled as though he had self-confidence oozing out of every orifice.

"You are good, Mr. Bishop, I will commend you on that. What is it that you require?" Lackenbauer's metal was bending and that was obvious.

"I wish to meet the buyers when we are to make the deal; I want to know where my merchandise is going so that I can plan my next vacation accordingly." Jim tried to sound as much like Clayton Webb as he could.

"You are most humorous, Mr. Bishop. Very well, I will meet you at the clubhouse of the Konigstrasse Golf Course tomorrow at eleven o'clock, with my client's demands, yes?" Lackenbauer had the presence of a man with a conniving undertone to his character but when one has danced with the top of the Interpol Most Wanted list for nearly a decade, that tends to happen.

"Eleven o'clock it is, should I bring my clubs?" Jim joked.

"No, your appetite and your family should be sufficient." With that, Lackenbauer climbed down off the stool and headed for the front door of the restaurant. Jim leaned back against the bar and wondered how Clayton Webb, of all people, could actually work in this world. You had to be a cutthroat and that was one killer instinct that Jim would wager Clayton Webb didn't have. He missed only one thing about Germany, the beer. American stuff was swill; he wouldn't drink it unless there were no other options. Once in a while you were lucky to get something Canadian or Irish back in the States and those were good days.

He finished off his beer, through a few dollars down on the bar and left the restaurant himself. The Europeans knew how to communicate, amazing how much they were capable of accomplishing over one beer. He hopped in his Porsche and peeled away from the restaurant and back toward the hotel. He reached inside his jacket and turned off the small pen microphone that Clayton Webb had concealed inside. Webb's men knew where the next contact was going to be made and right now, all he could do was sit on his hands and wait out the twenty-two hours until the next encounter.

When Jim got back to the hotel, Jack Keeter, looking appropriately like one Commander Lucas Horton was standing out front, waiting for him. "The Spider's gone ape-shit!" Keeter protested. "You weren't supposed to do that alone! Jesus, you could have gotten yourself killed in there."

"Chill, Horton. Lackenbauer's a big guy but it takes more than a big physique to take down a former Marine." Jim gave Keeter a pat on the shoulder as he walked passed him and into the hotel.

"The Spider wants to commend you on maintaining your composure in there. He thinks you're a natural." Keeter said quietly.

"Scary thought." Jim shuddered comically. The two men stood next to each other in the elevator. "So what else have we got on tap for the big party in June?"

"You mean aside from the slideshow, the club, the nearly illegal amounts of alcohol, the very illegal amounts of Cuban cigars and the Duct Tape Mummy gag?" Keeter insinuated. "What else could there possibly be?"

"Listen, this has got to be one hell of a party, the last one of these that Evan, the Seal and I attended was for this _Bud_dy of ours. We got arrested and Zara had to bail us out of jail at five in the blessed morning." Jim couldn't help but laugh.

"Sounds like Evan, alright." Keeter remarked as the elevator bell dinged and the two men stepped off of the elevator at their floor. The two of them walked over to the door of Harm and Mac's suite where they knocked on the door.

"Ten bucks says they're not dressed." Jim remarked under his breath.

"No way am I taking that bet, I know you're right." Keeter tossed back. Harm opened the door wide, still dressed in his bathrobe and with tousled, wet hair. "See, you would've made ten bucks."

"Yeah, if you weren't too chicken shit to bet." Jim tossed back as Harm looked at them curiously.

"Do I want to know what the two of you were betting on?" Harm looked almost condescending.

"Probably not." Keeter replied. "We need to bring you up to speed." Keeter pushed passed Harm into the suite.

"Please, by all means, come in." Harm stated caustically.

"Thanks, Evan." Jim smiled sarcastically as he mad his way into the suite.

"So, when do we make contact?" Harm asked as he followed them into the living room.

"Your brother here already did. You've got a meeting with Lackenbauer at Konigstrasse Golf and Country Club, tomorrow." Keeter informed Harm as he plopped down in a chair.

"You made contact without us!" Mac protested as she walked about from the bathroom, fully clothed.

"You weren't necessary. I speak German and I knew where to go to have him find me, the whole thing was textbook." Jim stated with an animated, empathetic hand gesture.

"Still, you're supposed to be working with us on this thing." Harm protested, his anger seeping into his voice.

"Sometimes, it is better that one hand not always know what the other is doing." Jim retorted.

"You're been hanging around the Spider too much." Harm countered. "Alright, so what have we got?" Harm looked over at Keeter.

"Tomorrow is the set up for the sell. Lackenbauer is going to be there and so are the Korsikovs. Tomorrow you're going to find out exactly what they want from you and you might even find out who they're selling to. Lackenbauer is going to hit high and hard with personal questions so that your meeting looks official and above the table to anyone's snooping ears in the clubhouse. I have some better news than that though, at 1900 tonight, Lieutenant Hughes and Captain Moritz from Ramstein Air Base Supply will be stopping by for a meeting with the infamous Bishop Brothers."

"So, you and the Spider want us to look as intimidating as humanly possible." Harm stated in a very matter of fact way.

"I find it difficult to believe that if these Marines are worth their salt, they'll be intimidated by two rich boys with assault rifles." Mac tossed at Keeter.

"Normally, the Spider and I would have agreed with you. Remember, Paul and Evan are former Marines. Besides, this little 'Diary of Death' of theirs is pretty impressive." Keeter handed Mac a dossier that catalogued every sale that Paul or Paul and Evan had made going back to the days of the Soviet invasion of Afghanistan.

"Looks like you got in on your brother's business as it was on the way up, Evan." Mac stated in her best rendition of what Harm called her 'Zara' voice.

"What do you mean?" Harm looked confused and slid in behind Mac to read the dossier over her shoulder.

"Well, you only joined in the Family Business in '95 after your tour in Bosnia. By that time, your brother had been selling arms for a well rounded decade. Starting with some trafficking during the Iran-Iraq War. According to this, the two of you have sold arms to pretty much anyone on the planet whose ever asked. Irish Republicans, Columbian Cartels, Islamic Jihad, Chechens, Russians, Israelis, Palestinians and even the CIA. This is one very impressive resume; you two have apparently looked every scumbag on the planet in the eye and forced him to meet you on your terms." Mac looked up at Harm and tried to analyze his features. Evan Bishop and Harmon Rabb couldn't be more polar opposite if they tried.

The Evan Bishop that Sarah MacKenzie was reading about was cold, unfeeling and disregarding of his actions. This man had killed more people with his business in the last four years than many diseases on the planet. Mac began to think about the cover that Webb (AKA: The Spider) had provided for her. She was supposed to play a woman that was in love with this man but how could any woman love him. From what she read, the man's soul had to be blacker than charcoal. There was a tragedy to the character of Evan Bishop though, he was corrupted, he hadn't always been this way. He was twisted likely by the hero that was his older brother.

Paul Bishop was detestable. He was a man of considerable intellect and cunning, gifted with a golden tongue, the cover for him read. A 'suave, debonair, Bond villain type' that was the kind of man that Paul Bishop was crafted by the CIA to be. She knew that it took everything her old friend Jim had in him to pull off playing the detestable character, but he seemed to be doing it with remarkable ease. There was no denying that over the years and years of combat, some form of PTSD had likely seeped into the hallows of Jim Grant's consciousness and when it did, he went from man to predator awful quick.

She'd seen it happen twice. More than a decade earlier when he had pummelled Chris Ragle when Chris came to bring her down from Red Rock Mesa while she was drying out, that was the first time. When he beat the hell out of Chris in the office a few weeks back, that was the second time she'd seen it. Jim Grant and Harmon Rabb shared one thing in common; they had been forced to grow up at early ages and that more than almost anything moulded the men that they were.

That's why this mission was so much easier for them. Those two men had no doubts about who they really were because they had been the men that they were since before either one of them likely had body hair. She once accused Harm of being able to turn things on and off like some bilge-switch but she knew why now. She envied them, inside the tough Marine that everyone knew, there was still a part of her that was scared little Sarah that hid in her bedroom when dad came home drunk from the NCO club.

"You two have to look like you'd shoot these two Marines as soon as look at them." Keeter's remark snapped Mac out of her reflections.

"So what we're looking at cigars, no lighting and guns? That kind of deal?" Jim inquired as Keeter leaned over the table in the room.

"Yeah, basically. You two can't exactly play up a crazy Texas cowboy image in the middle of the Rhineland, so the Mafioso image is a little more suitable. I've even brought your hardware." Keeter opened his case to reveal two familiar Desert Eagle pistols from their excursion into Syria almost a year earlier.

"American arms dealers carrying around Israeli made weapons to catch German and Russian Black Marketers and foreign terrorists. Three cheers for diplomacy." Harm jibed as the three men shared something of a sardonic laugh.

1900 LOCAL

JIM'S HOTEL SUITE

RAMSTEIN, GERMANY

Jim had his pistol strapped into a shoulder holster that hung loosely over his torso. Harm was sitting in a chair on the other side of the room running a whetstone over the blade of a hunting knife. There was only a solitary desk lamp lighting the room and its bulb was very dim. Jim took a long drag on a Cuban cigar and blew smoke rings out into the empty room

Keeter was going to be their security detail and conduct the pat-down searches for weapons tonight. At a few minutes after 1900, a knock came to the hotel room door. Keeter walked over and opened the door wide. In stepped Moritz and Hughes. Moritz was foolishly still in his Class A green uniform, so it was easy for Jim to distinguish him from Hughes. "Horton, will search you." Jim stated coldly.

"The hell he will! We came here out of peace we're not thugs!" Moritz bellowed. Jim reached under his shoulder and produced his pistol and in the same motion as that he drew back the hammer on the gun and pointed the barrel squarely between his eyes.

"You let him or you don't walk out of this room." Jim smiled maniacally and watched as Moritz' shoulders sank. Hughes went to step forward but this time it was Harm's turn to act. Harm threw the hunting knife, catching the shoulder fabric or Hughes' shirt and pinning it to the wall behind him.

"Nice shot." Moritz relinquished.

"What are you talking about? I missed." Harm remarked as he got up and pulled the knife out of the wall.

"Now, now, Evan, play nice." Jim stated a brotherly tone. "What can I do for you, gentlemen?" Jim lifted his cigar to his mouth.

"We figured we could work for you. You can't be here all the time but you could use someone who could keep constant contact with Lackenbauer and all we would ask is a small percentage of the profits." Moritz offered, being the senior officer of the two.

"How small?" Jim inquired.

"Fifteen percent." Moritz replied with a smug look on his face.

"Three percent." Jim replied.

"Three percent? That's an insult." Hughes demanded.

"You don't know the volume of business we do. Three percent would make you wealthier than you could ever hope to be in the Corps." Harm reminded them.

"We're putting ourselves at risk! Not just to local authorities but to Interpol and Lackenbauer himself!" Hughes retorted.

"You put yourself at greater risk by stepping through that door." Harm pointed his own gun at Hughes. "Three percent or no deal." Harm could see Moritz and Hughes hesitate. He knew that they would give in, hell they were spineless and looking at two men who they believed to be the most heartless bastards in the free world. That intimidation alone was enough to buckle them

"Deal." Moritz relinquished.

"Good, Horton, show these gentlemen out and give them the number at which I can be contacted, that will be all." In his best 'Paul Bishop' voice, Jim tossed them a flippant wave and dismissed them.

1100 LOCAL

KONIGSTRASSE G & CC

OUTSIDE OF RAMSTEIN, GERMANY

The three JAG lawyers worked their way into the clubhouse, all dressed in perfectly tailored suits. Because he was the only one capable of conversing with the waiter, Jim order for everybody, careful to mind to their dietary preferences. "Harm, try the Riesling, it's fantastic." Jim protested.

"Isn't that wine?" Harm remarked.

"Yeah, what's the problem?" Jim asked. "Let me guess, you've stopped drinking?"

"Small sacrifice, but one I was more than willing to make." Harm wrapped his arm protectively around the back of Mac's chair, pulling her close. Jim's eyes darted over to wear the familiar form of Günter Lackenbauer skulked into the clubhouse. Fast behind him were two gentlemen who, Jim mused, reminded him of Lenin and Trotsky.

"Paul!" Lackenbauer announced openly as he made his way over.

"Günter!" Jim tried not to vomit at having to sound pleased to see one of the world's biggest criminals. Lackenbauer made his way over to the table. "Günter, this is my brother Evan and his lovely wife Zara."

"Ah, yes, I have looked most forward to this introduction." Lackenbauer shook Harm's hand firmly before taking Mac's lightly and kissing her knuckle. When Lackenbauer's two travel companions. "This is Yuri und Vladimir Korsikov; they are business associates of mine." The two Russians shook hands with everyone at the table. When they got to Mac, she rattled off a few phrases in Russian which caused the Korsikov brothers to break into laughs.

"What did you say, Zara?" Harm asked in his best doting husband voice.

"I told them that Paul's Russian, like the rest of him, was limited." Mac replied in her most catty tone.

Jim leaned toward Lackenbauer to share a little joke of his own. "Sie hat eine Gross Mund." Jim stated and Lackenbauer laughed heartily.

"What did he say?" Mac asked with a glare across the table.

"He said that you have a big mouth." Lackenbauer replied readily. "Alright, down to business. I have talked to the clients, they are most interested in the following articles, do you think you can provide them?" Lackenbauer handed Jim a folder where the items were all written out in their identifiable codenames, it was an impressive list, there was little doubting that. This kind of shopping list also left little doubt as to who they were selling to.

"Keine Problem, Herr Lackenbauer." Jim stated confidently. "Are you sure this is all?"

"You were expecting more?" Lackenbauer's shock was evident. Harm and Mac were struggling to repress smiles as they watched their friend start to play the arms dealer.

"I suppose, I'm just used to the deals we construct in South America. They're heavy shoppers, no cheap merchandise there." Jim grinned slyly.

"Well, what is it you Americans say? You don't hit a homerun every time you step to plate?" Lackenbauer refuted.

"Well, that's certainly true." Jim raised his wine glass to Lackenbauer in a show of appreciation. For the next hour and half, light personal conversation and anecdotes were exchanged around the table. The JAG team filled up on lunch and all the time, Clayton Webb's CIA team was listening in via Harm's pocket-watch.

"Alright, if you're sure that you can meet the demand, how about we finalize our business at the Tavern just down the road from here, tomorrow night at nine o'clock, ja?" Lackenbauer suggested as he got up from the table.

"That's most acceptable, Herr Lackenbauer." Harm stated as he and Mac got up from the table.

2036 LOCAL

HARM AND MAC'S HOTEL SUITE

RAMSTEIN, GERMANY

"Alright, this is no small order, but it does tell us who they're selling to." Clayton Webb had dressed like a bell-boy in order to get into the room.

"That's true. Tomorrow, have the MPs at Ramstein pick up Moritz and Hughes at 2057 and leave orders that they're not to be let off the base at all tomorrow. I don't want those two showing up to skewer the scene." Harm asserted his authority.

"Already done, I made the suggestion this morning." Keeter informed his old buddy.

"And we've got teams set up on your location tomorrow. Get in and get out, don't stay around to chit-chat. You've withstood the torrent of rhetoric and proved to Lackenbauer that you can talk a big game. Tomorrow, you step into the storm." Webb's voice sounded ominous.

"They haven't shot us yet, that should indicate that we've done at least something right." Mac sniped at him.

"It does count for something. It means I went to the right people. You three know what you have to do. Horton, you'll make sure that you have what they need, where they need it to be, when they need it to be there, right?" Webb turned toward Keeter.

"Sure will." Keeter replied quickly.

"And you two are going to remember the first rule of gun-running right?" Webb sounded like a stern father.

"Yes." Harm and Jim admonished.

"What's the first rule of gun-running?" Mac turned toward Harm and Jim.

"Don't pick up merchandise and join the customers." Keeter stated sombrely.

0024 LOCAL

RAMSTEIN AIR BASE

RAMSTEIN, GERMANY

"What do you mean, they're JAG!" Lackenbauer spouted with rage as he talked to Moritz and Hughes.

"We just put it together. We're holding the USO Christmas album right now and their pictures are on the inside, complete with biographies." Moritz told Lackenbauer as he handed them the CD.

"Christus! Holle! Scheisse!" Lackenbauer exclaimed as he read through the little booklet. "The bastards played me! And I went for it like an Austrian chorus-boy! I appreciate your help gentlemen; I will deal with these two." Lackenbauer stormed off into the night, fuming from what had happened, pondering what he was going to do to regain his control over the situation.

2100 LOCAL

DER RHINELANDER

OUTSIDE RAMSTEIN, GERMANY

"I've got a bad feeling about this." Mac stated as they pulled up to the old tavern. The place looked deserted, something which was explained by the large 'ABANDONED' sign on the large wooden door.

"Of course you have a bad feeling about this, we're about to do something which violates international law and German federal law." Harm reminded her was they walked up to the building. They found the door jarred open and Harm led the way as the four of them pushed their way inside. The place looked old enough to have been used as an Allied field HQ during World War Two. It was dark, the only light available was the moonlight that streamed in through the cracks in boarded up windows.

Harm told Keeter to stand over by the door while the other three of them walked across the floor toward the back door, not seeing Lackenbauer anywhere in the main area. They walked toward the old kitchen when they saw Lackenbauer step through the main door. "You're on time, that is most courteous of you." Lackenbauer started. "Of course one would guess that they teach that in the Marines."

"Yeah, well especially when you're an enlisted man." Jim stated remembering that according to their covers they were ex-Marines.

"Well that explains why you are on time, not your brother however; the Navy has less of a reputation for that kind of thing, ja?" Lackenbauer's last statement was accompanied by a self-satisfied chuckle. "Give it up, Commander Rabb, Colonel Grant; the two of you have been trapped like rats." Lackenbauer turned away from them. "Die nicely now."

At that moment a scent became prominent in the room. A scent that both of the Marines were able to pick up on right away. "Methane!" They shouted. "You two get Keeter and get the hell out of here."

"Where do you think you're going, Jim?" Harm asked, tugging on his friend's sleeve.

"To kill the bad guy." Jim replied with a smile before heading off through the kitchen. Harm and Mac turned back for the main area, trying carefully not to create sparks and send the whole building up in flames. They reached the door to the main area and grabbed Keeter before racing through the door and down the road to get as far from the building as they humanly could. At a full sprint, they were about fifteen hundred metres from the building when they heard the explosion and they saw the old Tavern go up in flames.

They took cover as debris flew every where. As the dust settled, Webb's men descended on the scene like Vultures ready to peck at the corpse of this operation. Harm and Mac started to walk back to the scene slowly, with Keeter following soon after. Their steps were cautious as they traced their way back to the remnants of the old tavern that marked the place where the operation had gone south. They could still hear the old pieces of timber smouldering underfoot as they made their way back.

Webb's team was all over the scene. There had to be at least fifteen men working on this scene, probably closer to twenty. "We got him!" One of the men shouted and everyone clambered over to the scene. Jim had thrown Lackenbauer to the ground just as the explosion hit and had landed on top of him.

"Dear God, tell me he's got a pulse." Webb ordered. He watched as one of his men checked the Marine's neck.

"He's got one, pretty strong too." The man informed Webb.

"It's the Marine in him, refuses to die." Harm stated in an attempt to earn a few smiles.

"He's far from okay, Rabb. Just because his pulse is strong now, doesn't mean it will be in an hour. Just thank God he's still in one piece." Webb stated as a Medivac team was called in from Landstuhl.


	31. Dealing With It

3 Days After the Explosion in Germany………

Most of the JAG staff stood around the hallways of the ICU at Bethesda. Only Imes and Mattoni weren't there but no one really expected them to be. Harm, the Admiral, Bud, Webb and Sturgis were standing off to one side talking about what had happened in Germany. She was sitting with Angie and Harriet, who were trading off turns on cradling a sleeping David Grant. Just as a relative peace seemed to overcome the group from JAG, a wiry voice tore through the silence like a hacksaw.

"Where's that DS grandson of mine!" A short man, bearing a remarkable resemblance to Colonel Potter from MASH, piped up. He was followed by a man and a woman who looked like they were in their late fifties or early sixties. Mac watched as David Grant's eyes flew wide open at the sound of the voice.

"Gamps!" David flew off of Angie's lap and ran across the hallway toward the man. "Sure missed you, Grandpa." David said with a smile.

"What about us, young man?" The older woman chimed in.

"I missed you too, Aunt Mary. And you Uncle Pete!" David hugged each of them enthusiastically.

"No one's answered my question! Where is that dipshit grandson of mine!" David's grandfather admitted, by now he was getting a fair amount of attention in the hallway. The Admiral came walking over to the scene.

"I'm Admiral Chegwidden and just who might you be, sir?" The Admiral inquired in his best Commanding Officer tone.

"Harold O'Grady, James' grandfather!" The man replied with a wide smile as he extended his hand and shook the Admiral's.

"You must be like a hundred years-old, sir." Bud said rather innocently before realizing what he'd said.

"Ninety-one and still fit to play halfback at Boston College." Harold O'Grady smacked his thighs to emphasize his point. "This is Peter and Mary Grant, they're James' aunt and uncle but they might as well be his parents."

"Nice to meet you." The Admiral shook Peter and Mary's respective hands. "All I can tell you is that the Colonel's injuries were too extensive to be properly treated at Landstuhl so they had to move him here once he was stable." The Admiral informed them.

"Oh, horse hockey!" Harold O'Grady exclaimed. "He's just hamming it up, this can't be as bad as the time that 'Colt' stepped on him at your farm, can it, Peter?"

"He was pretty shaken up, Colt cracked a few of his ribs and gave him some bad internal bleeding but Jimmy rode him all the way into town." Peter laughed loudly at his recollection.

"Colt?" Harm asked as he wandered over to the scene.

"I run a ranch; Jimmy was the only farmhand I had that I could trust to break in our stallions. Colt was the only stallion that ever threw him. Colt threw him six times but Jim just kept getting back up. When Colt threw him the seventh time, he brought his hooves down on Jim's ribs and kicked him. Broke five ribs and caused internal bleeding in a few organs as I recall." Peter Grant stroked his snowy white beard.

Mac had taken stock of the people from the second that they walked into the ward. She was right in her initial evaluation of Harold O'Grady; he looked like an aged version of MASH's Colonel Potter. He held a very similar attitude to the old television character as well. Peter Grant reminded her of Santa Claus, he was a tall, plump man with a ragged snowy white beard. His hair colour matched his beard and he always sported a wide smile and pleasant demeanour. Mary Grant was a maternal type, like Sarah Rabb, a woman with whom Mac was sure Mary Grant would get along famously, were the two women to ever meet.

Clayton Webb was torturing himself over what had happened. His whole operation had been compromised by a CD! As a result, it had nearly cost one of his friends his life. Sometimes, life in the Company could be more trouble than it was worth. It was the chain of command that had saved Harm and Mac from being in a bed with Jim on this one. If Jim Grant didn't outrank Harmon Rabb, there was little doubt in Clayton Webb's mind that Harm would've been caught in the explosion too, because he would've gone after Lackenbauer.

It didn't matter to Clayton Webb that he had achieved all his objectives on this mission. He had caught Lackenbauer and the Korsikovs, the Marines had Moritz and Hughes in custody and the company had agents of the Iranian government in their custody. He was a hero at Langley for this, but he felt like hell. The last three years with Harm and Mac had caused a few military values to rub off on Clayton to the point where it was no longer acceptable to leave a man behind.

Sturgis Turner was starting to understand why the JAG staff was so close. These were people who needed each other. They all filled a role in each other's lives that they needed. To Bud, Harm and Mac, Jim Grant was an older brother. Someone to look out for them in the nitty gritty the Admiral's Chegwidden's rank wouldn't allow him to do. Admiral Chegwidden was the father that none of these people really had. Harm had a stepfather that he had spent most of his left despising; Mac had an abusive father that she had spent her entire life despising; Bud had an abusive father that he spent his entire life appeasing and Jim was bounced between his uncle and grandfather most of his life, so having a stable father was a non-issue.

Hell, even Keeter seemed to fill a role in this little circle every time he showed up, like he was the whacky cousin or something. These people were certainly willing to accept him. Most of which was no doubt due to the fact that he and Harm had known each other for so long. He soon learned not to protest the fact that this was a military post and it was unorthodox for people at a duty station to be this close. When news came in over the wire that Colonel Grant was being transported to Bethesda, Sturgis was hit hard by it too.

Now they were all sitting in the ICU ward at Bethesda, waiting for news from OR. When a doctor came out in scrubs, he managed to gain the full attention of all those present. "The Colonel's injuries have all been patched up; we've put him in a medically induced coma to control the pain. He'll be under for about thirty-six hours."

"Doctor, let me explain something to you. James Grant is the kind of stubborn mule of a man that could saw his leg off at the knee and never once complain about the pain. He doesn't need to be doped up, in order to deal with it. Just one doctor to another." Harold O'Grady smiled at the doctor.

"I would prefer to have a patient that could tell me when he was in pain. Especially with injuries to Colonel Grant's extent. He'll need PT in a few weeks for that broken leg and I'd be hesitant to return him to anything but limited duty after a weeks. We're moving him to a private room; you can go see him when a nurse tells you that everything has been set up." The doctor turned away and went back to the OR.

"Well, that's good news." Sturgis stated with a pleasant tone.

"I didn't expect much less, that boy's too stubborn to let himself get really hurt." Peter Grant joked aloud.

"We used to say that his career options were either Marine or Rodeo clown." Mar Grant added.

"The difference between the two being…." The Admiral joked and got glares from Mac and Angie but laughs from the Navy personnel around him.

"Well, he's okay; I guess we can thank God for small miracles." Clayton Webb stated as he joined the group.

"You people are here to see Colonel Grant, correct?" The nurse asked the waiting group.

"Yes, we are." Harm answered for the group.

"His room is down the hall, here, I'll take you." The nurse guided them across the sterile inside of the hospital to the room. When they opened the door, they saw the normally strong, stalwart form of the six-foot-three Marine Colonel buried under any number of wires and tubes.

"It doesn't look like him." Clayton Webb remarked as if in awe.

"It's an odd thing to see a person, especially one who always seems so larger than life, so fragile." Sturgis added. He had the chance over the last month to see the Colonel at some truly varying emotional ends, but to think that the person in the bed before him was the same person who almost choked the life out of Chris Ragle was nothing short of dumbfounding.

"You think Angie will want to see him like this?" Harm inquired, looking up at the Admiral.

"Well, Harriet's out there making the introductions between Angie and Jim's relatives, I think once that's over, she'll want to see him but I don't think she'll let David in. Damn it all! Hasn't Jim learned he's got to stop doing things like this to that poor kid?" The Admiral's protectiveness over young David Grant was beginning to show through. "Jim signed up knowing he could go through this, that kid didn't."

"None of us volunteer to be blown up in a German Tavern explosion, Admiral. That won't change the fact that Jim is his son's hero." Angie, having heard the conversation, stepped into the room. "And I don't need you all getting mother hen with me. I may be pregnant but I'm not incompetent."

"You are violent." Sturgis reminded her.

"There's a story here." Mac turned to Angie.

"He's just a little sore because I threatened to hit him with a frying pan." Angie shot a snide look at Sturgis.

"What did you say?" Harm turned toward his old Academy friend.

"Nothing. Fine, Angie said something about retaining more water than the Hoover dam and..."

"He made some comment about holes in the concrete." Angie completed the comment.

"Smooth, Sturgis, real smooth." Harm commented.

"I don't know how to deal with pregnant women; I'll admit that, okay." Sturgis admonished, his hands in the surrender position. They watched as Angie walked alongside of the bed, running her hands gently on his arms as they laid over the hospital blankets. When she got to his face, she ran her hands over the rough beard that had developed on his cheeks. She started to cry and practically flew out of the room in an emotional fit.

"I'll go after her." Sturgis remarked.

"Why you? Why not one of us? I mean, no offence Sturgis, but we all have more dealings with Jim and Angie than you do." Mac reminded him in a stern tone.

"Maybe, but none of you were raised by Chaplain Matthew Turner. I learned from my dad early on, what it is to help people in an emotional crisis." Sturgis turned out of the room and went out into the hallway where Angie was sitting on a chair, crying her eyes out. "People see Marines cry, could give them the wrong impression." Sturgis joked as he sat down next to her.

"What do you want, Sturgis?" Angie shot at him with a less than pleasant tone.

"Would you believe I want to help?" He sounded reserved.

"You've helped. You were there when I got the call, you were the one who got me here, you've done more than your fair share." Angie sounded like she was trying to release him of any responsibility.

"Maybe, but I figure I can be of help, so why not at least try?" Sturgis smiled slightly as he bumped her shoulder with his elbow.

"How can you help, Sturgis? Have you ever had the person you're in love with, strapped to a hospital bed like that?" Angie was obviously in an argumentative mood.

"No, but it wasn't that long ago that a bunch of us from the Academy had to see Harm that way." Sturgis watched as Angie turned up from her crying to look at him. "Yeah, Harm had a ramp strike a few years back and a bunch of us from the Academy, myself and Keeter included, had to see Harm much the way you're seeing the Colonel today. It wasn't easy for us then, just like it isn't easy for any of us now."

"It's different, Sturgis." Angie protested as she rose from her seat.

"How so?" Sturgis questioned as he rose up after her.

"It just is!" She turned toward him, he tearstains altering her normally graceful features. "Sturgis, you were there today when David called me 'mom' today for the first time, do you have any idea what that's like? You know what those three little letters mean? When a child like David Grant uses them, they mean 'I expect you to always be there for me, because he is!'" Angie pointed toward the door to Jim's hospital room. She sniffled a little before continuing. "Sturgis, my life is on eggshells. I've got a job at the Pentagon that I think I only have because of two reasons, one of which is that I got too good at killing people and the other is that I'm pregnant. I have a boyfriend that rather consistently keeps me worried for his physical well-being and I'm worried that if he ever does propose to me it will be more for the child than for me."

Sturgis Turner finally understood. If there ever was a time for Jim to get himself blown-up, this was probably the worst. "I don't know what to tell you, at this point I don't think that anything I say can be classified as more than my own pathetic attempt to appease you. But I can say a few things that I've observed since I've been at JAG. One, if there is a person in the world more loved than David Grant, they reside in both you and Ensign Sims-Roberts. This office tends to accept people into the fold rather readily and that's what they've done with you and even with me. Do I think Colonel Grant loves you? I think if I ever meet a woman I love as much as he loves you, or as much as Harm loves Mac, I'd be a fool to let her get away." Sturgis smiled

"You know, for a lawyer, bubblehead and Squid, you're alright." Angie joked as she regained her smile.

"Does this mean you're not going to hit me with a frying pan the next time I visit?" Sturgis joked as he walked over to her.

"I will try and contain myself, as long as you promise not to make any more pregnancy jokes." Angie pointed at him in a mock-stern lecture.

"I've learned my lesson." Sturgis threw his hands up into the air. The two of them started walking back toward the hospital room when they heard an unfamiliar voice.

"So, it's you!" The young woman demanded.

_Oh Christ, what now?_ Sturgis opened the door to the hospital room and motioned for everyone inside to come out and join him.

"May I ask who you are, Miss?" Sturgis turned toward her. In light of recent events, he thought it wise to get between this woman and Angie with whom she seemed to show annoyance.

"Sturgis, this is Midshipman Gabriella Grant. She's Jim's daughter." Angie informed him. That was when Sturgis began to feel like he was sinking quicksand. The woman standing in front of him couldn't be more than seven or eight years younger than Angie herself.

"That's right, but apparently that doesn't matter now that you're in his life. I mean God, I was probably the last person notified! I realize that my independent streak tends to put me and my father at odds, but damn it, I deserve to be notified immediately when he's been hospitalized!" Gabbs protested as her voice raised to level quite a bit higher than necessary.

"Gabriella, you're right, you do deserve to be notified but Mr. Webb wouldn't let anyone know anything until he called the Admiral and by then your father was already on his way here." Angie had taken on her best maternal tone but that didn't matter.

"Don't try and placate me! You're just a scab, a replacement for my mother. Someone who'll look great on dad's arm when he gets his stars in a few years and he starts going to all the formal functions, you will never be my mother!" Gabbs protested and she was about to really lay into Angie even more when she felt a tug at her uniform.

"Gabby, stop." David Grant protested, tugging on his sister's pant leg. "Dad tells us to love people like Jesus said, Gabby. Daddy loves her, Gabby. Dad's happy. Don't you want Dad to be happy?"

_I'll give the kid this, he'd make a hell of a lawyer_, Harm thought as he stood there watching the display. David Grant had his father's ability to maintain cold steel eyes as he awaited his sister's response. Gabriella knelt down to David's height and looked him in the eye. "David, you just don't understand. You're too young." Gabbs was patronizing as she went to stand up again.

"Bullshit." David stated almost cutely.

"What!" Everyone said at once, in complete shock that the cute little eight year-old could use such words.

"Dad says when someone is lying, it's bullshit." David looked up at the Admiral who was trying very hard not to laugh.

"David, you don't know what you're…" Gabbs was still trying to control her little brother who just wasn't ready to put up with her crap.

"Bullshit, Gabby. Dad loves Angie. You don't see cuz you never visit us. I see it, Gabby. Dad is happy." David protested, beginning to show a little bit of the Irish temper that made his father a force in the courtroom. Harm knelt down to David's side.

"David, buddy, I know you like sticking up for your Dad and Angie, but you've got to stop swearing okay, buddy?" Harm coached the young man.

"Okay, Uncle Harm." David smiled at Harm.

"David, do you remember what mom and dad were like?" Gabby asked as she knelt down.

"Mom never apologized." David stated almost cryptically.

"Did you teach him how to talk like that?" Mac whispered to Harm.

"Why do I always get blamed?" Harm whispered back.

"What do you mean, 'mom never apologized', slugger?" The Admiral decided that this would be the ideal time to intervene and help David out with his case.

"Mom and Dad used to fight a lot. That's not fair. Mom used to scream, Dad tried to stay quiet. Dad would always apologize. Always make breakfast in bed for mom, the next day. It was never him that screamed or yelled, always mom. Mom never apologized." David explained in answer to his Uncle AJ's question.

"It would appear, Midshipman, that your brother seems to recall a different version of the events than you do. Do you believe that you can behave civilly from here on out or do I have to have you removed from the ward?" The Admiral questioned with an emboldened presence.

"I only have a twenty-four hour liberty, Admiral, I have to get back to the Yard, anyway. It was nice to see you all again." Gabbs smiled weakly and quickly before leaving the hospital.

"Wish we could say the same." Sturgis joked as they all turned toward the room.

"Oh, Ensign, where did the Colonel's family go?" The Admiral inquired, turning toward Harriet.

"They wanted to go get some things from the Colonel's apartment. Captain Harris handed them her key. I imagine they'll be back soon." Harriet informed the Admiral.

"Interesting bunch of people." The Admiral commented.

"Did Peter Grant remind anyone else of Santa Claus?" Clayton Webb asked as they all stepped back into the hospital room.

"What about having Colonel Potter for a grandfather, that's a weird occurrence if I've ever heard of one." Harm joked as they settled into the room.

"Harm, doesn't Mary remind you of your grandmother?" Mac questioned, looking up at her fiancé.

"So much so that it's scary." Harm remarked with a nod. They all looked down at the man in the bed who still had a respirator regulating his breathing. "He saved me from being in the bed next to him. If he hadn't ordered me not to go, God, I would've been caught in the blast."

"Just proves that you need a Marine watching your six, flyboy." Mac joked as she snaked an arm around his waist and began lightly rubbing his back. At that moment, Jim's relatives walked back into the room, Mr. O'Grady was holding a familiar instrument case in his hands.

"James used to love this song, used to beg me to play it whenever he was living with me. I'd tell him a few stories about his uncles, these great Marines heroes, my sons and then I'd play for him and he'd fall asleep." Harold O'Grady popped the hard top to reveal the family heirloom fiddle. He tucked it under his chin and began to play the notes slowly, as if trying to regain his memory of them, then they all came flooding back to him.

_How do you do, young Willie McBride?_

_Do you mind if I sit here down by your graveside_

_And rest for a while in the warm summer sun_

_I've been working awhile and I'm nearly done_

_I see by your grave stone you were only nineteen_

_When you joined the great fallen in 1916_

_Well I hope you died quick and I hope you died clean_

_Or young Willie McBride was it slow and obscene_

_Did they beat the drum slowly_

_Did they play the fife lonely_

_Did they sound the Death March_

_As they lowered you down_

_Did the band play_

"_The Last Post and Chorus"_

_Did the pipes play _

"_The Flowers of the Forest"_

_Did you leave Eire a wife or a sweetheart behind_

_In some faithful heard is your memory enshrined_

_Though I know that you died back in 1916_

_In that faithful heart are you forever nineteen?_

_Or are you a stranger without even a name_

_Enclosed in forever behind a glass pane_

_In an old photograph, torn and tattered and stained_

_And faded to yellow in a brown leather frame_

_Did they beat the drum slowly_

_Did they play the fife lonely_

_Did they sound the Death March_

_As they lowered you down_

_Did the band play_

"_The Last Post and Chorus"_

_Did the pipes play _

"_The Flowers of the Forest"_

_The sun shines bright on the Green Fields of France_

_The warm summer breeze makes the red poppies dance_

_And look how the sun shines from under the clouds_

_There's no gas, no barbed wire, there's no guns firing now_

_But here in this graveyard, is still No Man's Land_

_The countless white crosses in mute witness stand_

_To man's blind indifference to his fellow man_

_To a whole generation that was butchered and damned_

"That's all of that song I remember." Harold O'Grady tucked the instrument back in the case.

"Not exactly the most uplifting song at this time, Doctor O'Grady." The Admiral stated.

"No, I suppose you're right. Let me explain something to you folks. The O'Grady's came over here in 1848, as part of the Diaspora created by the famine back home. Since then, we've contributed our sons to every major conflict that the United States has ever faced and every time we do, less O'Gradys come home then left. He's the last one and if him liking this song is going to bring him comfort as he beats this thing, then I'll play until my fingers fall off." Mr. O'Grady responded, if slightly terse.

"You would've made a good Marine." Mac commented quickly.

"I was in my time, of course that was the twenties and they didn't need me for any active combat. By the time the big war came around, they didn't need me and I was too old for it anyway. I was needed back home, but all my sons that could go, went willingly. Same for Korea." You could almost hear the old man thump his chest with pride.

Hours went passed and, with the exception of anyone related to Jim, different members of the JAG staff funnelled in and out of the room. Clayton Webb got out to Bethesda as often as he could. One such occasion happened around noon the next day, which was about eight hours before the physicians were set to bring him out of the coma. Webb just happened to run into Harm while he was at the hospital.

"Webb, you've been here every time I have been, don't you go home?" Harm asked as he strode into the ward to find Clayton out in the hallway.

"Not until he wakes up." Webb returned.

"Your bosses at Langley okay with that?" Harm asked as he sat down next to Webb in the hallway.

"Are you kidding? With what you three managed to pull off, they're falling at my feet." Webb stated self-deprecatingly. "Figures, the one time that everything goes pretty much to plan and one of my friends almost dies for my op."

"Clay, you can't beat yourself up over this, he knows the risks every time he puts on the uniform but he does it anyway." Harm stated in an attempt to console his friend.

"I hadn't even thought of that damn USO CD! I should have, I should have gone to every extent, taken every measure to ensure that nothing could compromise your covers, but I didn't." Webb smacked his fist at the last remark.

"Could you have done that without arousing suspicion? What if they had come across a CD that had been sold before you could clear the shelves? There was any number of contingencies. All things considered, this went about as well as could be hoped. Jim chasing Lackenbauer bought Mac, Keeter and I enough time to get away. If he would've tried to run along with us, that place would've gone up with all of us inside. He saved our lives by knowingly risking his, Clay. You didn't ask him to, you didn't have to, he just did it." Harm explained as he hunched over, his elbows on his knees.

"You know, if you speak like that in a courtroom, it's little wonder why your win-loss record is the way it is." Webb's remark caused the two of them to laugh. "Listen, Rabb, I appreciate it but nothing is going to make me feel better about what happened. The fact is, that without me, none of you would have been out there in the first place. This isn't the first time either. God, how can you keep forgiving me after Russia or the Sudanese Embassy and especially after this?"

"Because, there's always some semblance of help in what you do. In Russia, you may have used me and Mac as something of a bird-dog, but you helped me find the truth about my father. The Sudanese Embassy, well, you kind of skewered the proposal plans I had for that night but you got Mac a new dress and I had to opportunity to take her to a nice function on the Company dime. With regard to our excursion to Germany, you had to, you needed three people that could bring some of the world's biggest criminals to justice and you called on people you knew could do just that." Harm gave Webb a pat on the back.

"That Boy Scout mentality, you're just determined to save everyone from themselves, aren't you?" Webb questioned sarcastically.

"If I can." Harm headed into the room to visit for a few minutes before heading out again for the day.

At 2003 that night, the Doctor came in to pull Jim out of the coma and take his vitals upon awakening. He checked the incisions that they had to make before allowing everyone gathered outside, into the room. The first person to speak to the newly awakened Marine, was his gruff CO. "You look like hell, son." Admiral Chegwidden said with a laugh.

"I feel like hell, it's a matching set." Jim stated weakly.

"Good to have you back, Marine." Harm stated with a smile.

"Did I go somewhere?" Jim replied with his usual timing.

"According to the investigators and pathologists, that blast sent you forty feet into the air at one point." Clayton Webb added.

"With a less than graceful landing, apparently." Jim knocked on the plaster of his cast. There were a few laughs exchanged.

"Just get better, boy. I'll be staying with you a few weeks to conduct your physical therapy." Harold O'Grady piped up.

"God help us all." Jim stated sarcastically.

"We can't have you getting soft, Marine. If I've learned anything in the last few days, it's that Mr. O'Grady sure as hell won't let that happen." The Admiral joked.

"I'll call you the first time he decides to kick my crutches out from under me." Jim stated with an annoyed look.

"Well, I can't have you getting soft on us, boy." Harold O'Grady reminded his grandson.

"Only someone related to Jim would think that someone who had a broken leg and more wood fragments in his body than in the walls of his apartment, would be getting soft." Angie stated with a laugh.

"Daddy, Uncle Harm thinks you're Superman." David stated as he reached for his father's hand.

"Well, he should know, son. After all, Uncle Harm is Batman and Aunt Mac is Wonder Woman." Jim joked as his bigger hands enveloped his son's smaller one.

"What does that make me?" Clayton Webb joked from the foot of the bed.

"Flash Gordon, you can get out of situations at any speed necessary with your deniability in tact." Mac joked and Webb pretended to take offence.

"Yeah, that's us, the entire demented Justice League of America." Sturgis stated as every in the room smiled.


	32. Kids From One to NinetyTwo

A/N: Alright, here's the deal; Wolfman had a week of vacation and none of us could get into his room, get on his computer and post the next chapter for this or _Three Wise Men_; so, now that he's back, you're getting both today.

In the life of Harmon Rabb Junior, a lot had happened since last Christmas. Well, there were big things, like getting engaged and finding out the truth about his father's last years. Those two things easily topped the list. There were a lot of other things that made this year memorable too. His girlfriend had a stalker, he got to return to flying for a few weeks, he got to combat international terrorists in Syria, one of his best friends got married, that same friend and his wife were now expecting a baby, another friend of his was an expectant father and to top it all off, a few weeks ago, he and his fiancée almost got blown up in a foreign country. Yeah, it was an exciting year.

So, he decided that he should have a good Christmas this year. He had arranged it so that everyone was coming up to Bealsville. It was going to be one crowded house for Christmas up at Grams, but he figured that they could probably do it. Besides, with Sturgis and Keeter up there, he wouldn't be the only one that his grandmother put to work. Normally Harm would have added Jim to that list, but he was in the middle of PT with a very demanding Harold O'Grady who just wasn't letting up.

Even with the Colonel back on limited duty, Mr. O'Grady was in everyday at 1230, ready to try and get his grandson to do more walking around the JAG courtyard, his bellowing could be heard from Falls Church all the way out to McLean, Harm was sure of that. It was humorous to say the least. Jim was the ranking officer at JAG after the Admiral and a Marine but even he was afraid to deal with, what Harm was sure, was the most spry ninety-one year-old that God had ever put on the planet.

But now, it was December 24th and everyone was packing up to head on up to Bealsville for their Christmas leave. Keeter was meeting them up there. Harm couldn't help but laugh at the thought of his grandmother meeting Harold O'Grady. That was going to be one for the books indeed.

"We're following you up to Bealsville, right?" Harm and Jim were outside the apartment building loading up the jeep.

"Yeah, Bud and Sturgis will be here any minute. I still can't believe that Bud managed to escape the evil looming spectre of Mrs. Sims this Christmas. I don't think we'll ever get that smile off his face." Harm joked as he slammed the back hatch of the jeep.

"Thanks for taking Mac's and my stuff up with you, God knows it doesn't fit in the corvette." Harm stated.

"Not a problem. I just realized something." Jim looked terrified.

"What's that?" Harm questioned.

"My grandfather has to drive. Angie's pregnant and with my broken leg, he's the only one of us who can drive." Jim covered his face in his hands.

"What is he like slower then molasses or something?" Harm joked.

"Just the opposite, the man thinks that speed limits are suggestions." Jim deadpanned. "Aren't you glad that we put all-season tires on that car before we gave it to Bud?" Jim pointed to where Bud pulled the old T-Bird into the alley near Harm's apartment.

"Nice too see you, sir. This Christmas idea was a stroke of genius." Bud was ecstatic as he climbed out of the car.

"Yes, sir, it was awful nice of your grandmother to invite all of us up to her farm. It's only a pity that the Admiral couldn't come." Harriet added as she sort of waddled over to the congregation of people.

"Yeah, well the Admiral likes to spend the holidays with Francesca. Can't say that I blame him; I know that when I have kids, I'll want to spend as much time with them as possible." Harm remarked thoughtfully.

"Don't you mean, when _we_ have kids, flyboy?" Mac came up behind arm and worked her way into the crook under his arm.

"Yes, dear." Harm stated submissively.

"When are Sturgis and Chaplain Turner going to be here?" Mac questioned.

"Should be any minute." At that moment a car pulled into the alley. "Speak of the devil."

"You know, Mac, I think you're making Harm sentimental. Back at the Academy you couldn't make this guy smile at Christmas and now he's planning big holidays." Sturgis joked as he walked over to the gathering group near the jeep. "Colonel, you do realize that Grandpa O'Grady is going to find an ally in Mrs. Rabb with regard to helping to get that leg back in working order."

"So, Harm has told me." Jim leaned heavily on his crutch. "Why do I feel like a grown up Tiny Tim?"

"Just so long as you don't quote Dickens at us, everything should be okay." Chaplain Turner added. It was that moment that Angie, David and Grandpa O'Grady all came down out of the building.

"We ready to go?" Harm inquired of Angie who was still trying to push David out the door.

"Yeah. Jim your son is actually harder to wake up in the morning then you are." Angie commented curtly.

"I'm growing. I need sleep." David replied.

"Are you sure he's not going to be a lawyer?" Mac joked.

"Alright people, we're on a tight schedule here." Harm announced.

"He's a relentless taskmaster. Sturgis quipped as everyone retreated to their cars.

1933 ZULU

SARAH RABB'S FARM

BEALSVILLE, PENNSYLVANIA

The convoy of vehicles pulled down the old dirt road to the big turn of the century farmhouse. The Chrysler at the end of the log driveway told Harm that his parents were already here. The other car in the driveway, the one that he didn't recognize, meant that Keeter too, had beaten them here. So, Harm's corvette led the convoy of four vehicles up the long drive to the house. When they reached the end of the drive, all four of the vehicles were put in park. The women and children made for the house while the guys unloaded the jeep which had been packed to the brim with luggage and presents for the holidays.

Harm, Sturgis, Bud, Jim, Chaplain Turner and Grandpa O'Grady looked like loaded pack mules as they climbed up the stairs to the house. Keeter and Frank met them on the stairs. "We were banished from the house in order to help you guys unload the vehicles." Keeter stated reluctantly.

"Well, there isn't too much left." Harm managed to get out between grunts of exertion that came from being loaded down.

"Thank God for small favours." Frank jested as he and Keeter went down to retrieve the last of the gifts. Within twenty minutes, all the presents had been set up in the living room and the guys were looking around admiring their handy work.

"Alright, now you boys have to go out back and hunt for a tree. Remember the ceilings are fifteen feet, so nothing too big, boys." Sarah Rabb lectured at Keeter, Sturgis and Harm. Jim threw himself down on to the old couch in the living room. "What do you think you're doing, James?" Mrs. Rabb looked on disapprovingly.

"Recuperating." Jim smiled in his own Irish way and pointed to his cast.

"Oh, there'll be none of that hogwash. You'll go out with the boys and help them pick out a tree." Mrs. Rabb threatened to smack the cast.

"Alright, alright, I'm getting up." Jim clambered off the couch and limped over to the door. He propped himself up on one crutch.

"Now that's how you whip the boy into shape." Harold O'Grady joked as he watched his grandson follow his friends out the door.

"Of course, you think we would have put up with that kind of lollygagging in our day?" Sarah Rabb questioned with a boisterous laugh as she and Mr. O'Grady entered the kitchen.

"You decided to trust them with an axe, Grams?" Mac questioned.

"Well you know them. If I'd let them hang around here all afternoon with nothing to do, they would have been into the whiskey before long and that was something I wasn't about to let happen. Can you imagine those boys getting into the whiskey on Christmas Eve? It would be absolute madness." Sarah Rabb chortled happily as she walked over toward the over. "Trish, dear, how are the shortbreads coming?"

"Just fine, Sarah. Harriet and Mac are making the Egg Nog with the famous Rabb family recipe." Trish informed the elder woman.

"Alright, all we need to do is find something for you to do, young man." Sarah Rabb knelt down to David Grant's height.

"I could open presents?" David smiled his own little replica of his dad's stupid Irish grin.

"Oh, you're a sly one." Grams chuckled. "Why don't you go string the garland along the banister?"

"Okay." David ran off happily to complete his task.

After about an hour, the boys came walking back up to the house with one damn big Christmas tree on their shoulders, the gimping Marine bringing up the rear. After some serious feats of engineering brilliance, they had managed to manoeuvre the tree in the living room and get it upright. "Now that is one big mother tree." Keeter commented and Harm and Sturgis fixed the tree stand around the base.

"That thing's got to be at least twelve feet." Jim commented gazing up at the top of the tree.

"Alright, ladies it's set up!" Harm called and the girls, along with David and Mr. O'Grady came stampeding in from the kitchen.

"Well, Harmon, that has to be the best tree we've ever had in this old house." Sarah Rabb commented.

"Sarah, do you think that you have the decorations to cover it?" Frank questioned.

"No, we'll have to spread the decorations out but it will still be perfect." Grams smiled fondly.

"How exactly do you intend to get the star on the top, Harmon? Grams' biggest ladder is only eight feet." Trish questioned.

"Well, my additional height should make up for the rest of the distance." Harm pondered for a moment.

"Alright, well, we've got Egg Nog and shortbreads now, let's get on into the kitchen and eat something before we even think about decorating this tree." Grams ordered and everyone retreated from the room toward the kitchen.

The rest of that night was spent decorating the Christmas tree, divulging their sweet teeth with Christmas treats and watching old Christmas movies on the television. It had actually been quite a struggle of wills at one point. David was arguing that he wanted to watch the Disney version of 'A Christmas Carol' and his great-grandfather was arguing rather vehemently that the group should watch _It's a Wonderful Life_.

"What is it that old Christmas song says about kids from one to ninety-two?" Mac whispered to Harm as they watched the scene.

"James, get your son under control." Mr. O'Grady protested.

"Are you kidding Grandpa? That kid gets an idea in his head and you can't shake it from him." Jim retorted.

"He's like his father that way." Angie added.

"Alright, David buddy, you have to go to bed now, otherwise Santa Claus won't come." Jim warned. David gave everybody a hug before running up the stairs to the bedroom that Grams had assigned to him.

"We had all better hit the rack right after the movie. Because that kid is going to be up before the crack of dawn tomorrow." Jim commented drowsily. The adults sat around watching the movie and then once it was finished, they all separated off to their respective sleeping quarters.

Sure enough, at 0513 that morning or so Angie told Jim, David came running into their room. "Dad! Dad! Wake up! Santa came!" David proclaimed as he shook his father's shoulders.

"Son, you remember what I told you about waking sleeping Marines?" Jim questioned drowsily, his question was half muffled by his pillow.

"Not healthy." David nodded.

"That's right." Jim thought for a minute and then came up with an idea. "Son, your Colonel is about to give you a very dangerous Recon mission. Do you accept?"

"Sure thing, Dad." David replied happily.

"Okay, buddy, go in and wake up your uncle Harm and aunt Mac okay? But you gotta jump on their bed." Jim was explaining to his son who was nodding his head and wide-eyed in anticipation. On the other side of the bed, Angie was straining to hold in her giggles at her boyfriend's conniving plan. After a few seconds, David went bounding out of the room and Angie rolled over.

"Harm and Mac aren't going to like that." She stated plainly.

"I know, but I'll get my laughs and so will everyone else when they hear about it, so I figure why not?" Jim replied as he and Angie got ready to head downstairs to unwrap presents.

David burst through the door of Harm and Mac's room and leapt on to the bed. The force of the enthusiastic eight year-old landing on the bedspread forced the sheet down and revealed a topless Mac to the eight year-old. "BAZOOMS!" David shouted happily and he bounced on the bed.

Harm's eyes flew open in fresh terror as he looked over to find Mac scrambling to cover herself with the bed-sheet. "Alright, David, buddy, we're up." Harm stated as he swung himself out of the bed. Harm was dressed in a pair of pyjama bottoms, so he was covered up enough to deal with the situation. Harm grabbed the runt around the waist and threw him over his shoulder. He then proceeded to walk down the hall to Jim's room just as Jim and Angie were coming out dressed in their pyjamas, bathrobes and slippers. "I believe I have something that belongs to you two." Harm lowered David to the ground.

"Mission complete, Colonel!" David replied with a smile.

"Busted." Angie taunted.

"Care to explain, Jim?" Harm questioned.

"He came in and woke us up a few minutes ago and I gave him the mission of going in to your room and waking up you two." Jim explained.

"I saw bazooms!" David was wide-eyed and smiling from ear to ear.

"Care to explain that one, Harm?" Jim asked.

"He kind of saw Mac's…" Harm tripped over the final word.

"Well, he got his Christmas present early then." Angie joked which caused Jim to break down into hysterics.

"You're lucky it's Christmas and your leg is already broken. Otherwise I think you would have Hurricane MacKenzie on your hands." Harm joked.

"Come on, Harm, this was damn funny." Jim recovered enough from his laughing fit to form a sentence.

"Maybe, guess we might as well wake everyone else up. That is, if the Junior Marine here didn't already do it with that shout of his." Harm mussed David's hair before walking back to his room.

"I think we should put David in for a bronze star." Angie commented as they climbed down the stairs.

"Why's that, honey?" Jim inquired.

"How many Marines you know could wake a topless Mac at 0530 in the morning and live to tell about it?" Angie played as they all made their way toward the living room. A few minutes later they were joined by the rest of the household, including Mrs. Rabb and Mr. O'Grady who had been up since 0430 making pancakes, sausage, bacon and just about anything else that was in the fridge.

By 0612, everyone was sitting in the living room, rubbing sleep out of their eyes. Keeter was by far the least enthusiastic about by roused out of a peaceful slumber at this hour of the morning.

"Alright, before we open the presents, I just realized that we forgot to put the star on the tree last night." Frank stated. "So, I went out and got Grams' ladder from the shed and brought it in." Frank set up the ladder next to the tree.

"I think I'm going to need some help with this." Harm commented and he lifted David Grant on to his shoulders.

"Make sure you hold on tight David, that's a long fall, honey." Angie warned, her maternal instincts running on overdrive. Harm climbed the ladder and when he got to the top, he handed David the star to place on top.

Mac stood there looking on. She was so happy to see Harm's fatherly side. She always had the feeling that he'd be a great father to whatever children that they had together, but seeing him with David always managed to reinforce that proud maternalism. She didn't think she could wait six more months to the wedding. She was sure that it was going to kill her.

Once, the star had been placed on top of the tree, Harm and David climbed down and the time for opening presents was at hand. Sturgis, Harm and Keeter had continued a tradition that they had long since perfected in their Academy days of giving gag gifts at Christmas. This year, Keeter got an inflatable girlfriend, Sturgis got a remote controlled fart machine and Harm was given edible underwear in honour of his engagement.

Harm gave Mac a gorgeous charm bracelet that sported a rose, the Marine Corps Eagle, Globe and Anchor; as well as the Navy Anchor. Mac presented Harm with a scrap book, inside were the pictures of all the important places that they'd been together. If they weren't pictures that she herself had taken, they were pictures from the internet of places like the Miami marina where they first kissed as boyfriend and girlfriend or of the TR where they had that little encounter in their stateroom.

Trish and Frank had exchanged similar gifts of affection as had other family members. The person who seemed to end up with the most presents was David who seemed to have gotten a gift. He actually got his own Air Wing of toy F-14s from Harm and Jack. Bud and Harriet had gotten him a few used Playstation games and he got a boatload of gifts from his father.

The last gift pulled off the floor was from Jim to Angie and it was a huge box. The biggest one under the tree. Jim picked it up and handed it to her. It was light, incredibly light for something that size. She slowly tore off the wrapping paper to reveal a TV box for a twenty-inch TV. She recognized it as the TV that they had in their bedroom back in Washington. She tossed him a curious look then she continued to tear off the masking tape on the box. She opened the flaps of the box to find a lot of ruffled up newspaper inside. "You know it's a health risk to tease a pregnant woman, right?" She asked.

"Just keep going, I put a lot of thought into this." Jim encouraged. Angie tossed him another curious look before pulling the newspaper out of the box and tossing it in a waiting garbage bag. She pulled out a very small box that was wrapped in the same wrapping paper that the big box had been wrapped in. By this time she was rather annoyed with her boyfriend's childish antics. She tore off the paper of the little box to find it was a red velvet jewellery box. Now her heart was in her throat. The box wasn't big enough to be for a bracelet or a necklace and if the smiles on Mac's or Harriet's faces were anything to go by, this was a very good sign.

Jim got to one knee on the floor in front of her and took the box from her hand. "As I recall, this all started with me up in arms in the Admiral's office because my two best friends had run off to Russia." Jim tossed a glance at Mac and Harm who were smiling. "Clayton Webb decided to tell me that General Wes Clark needed me for this Force Recon extraction in Kosovo. So, I got on a plane to Naples. When I got to Naples, this sexy as hell Marine Lieutenant came sauntering right out of my fantasies and on to the tarmac and even her BDUs couldn't hide just how gorgeous she really was. Well, this Marine Lieutenant and I ended up getting stranded after our Huey was overweight and they had to head back to the carrier without us. We spent almost a week running through the Kosovar and Albanian bush. In that week, I managed to fall madly in love with that Marine Lieutenant. In the months since, she's become a part of me and very soon, she'll be the mother of my child. Angie, there's no words to really or even properly describe everything I feel for you, but if you give me the chance, I'll spend the rest of my life trying to find those words. Marry Me?" Jim gulped heavily, feeling as nervous as a teenager in the backseat of his dad's car with the Prom Queen.

Angie was fighting a losing battle with tears. All talking or even moving in the room had ceased for a few seconds. "Like I don't cry enough with these damn hormones! You have to go around being all sweet. Of course I'll marry you, you crazy Jarhead!" She leapt off the couch into Jim's arms, knocking him flat on his six.

"Football!" David proclaimed, finally paying attention to the scene.

"No, buddy, no football. Hey, buddy, you know that talk you and I had a few days ago? Well Angie just said yes." Jim mussed his son's hair.

"I knew she would. Angie and Aunt Mac were sitting talking a few days ago and all they could say was how stubborn you and Uncle Harm were." David broadcast to the room.

"Busted." Chaplain Turner goaded.

"We really have to stick a bell on his neck." Mac joked.

The rest of the day was devoted to cleaning up the mess from the morning's events and watching the television. Between marathons of _A Christmas Story_, _Christmas Vacation_ and _Miracle on 34th Street_, more than a gallon of Egg Nog had been consumed and all of Grams' shortbread cookies had been consumed. Grams, Trish, Harm and Harriet were busy working away in the kitchen to get Christmas dinner ready for that night.

By the time 1900 rolled around, everything was ready. Keeter, Sturgis and Jim had pushed a few more tables on to the end of Grams dining room table in order to find a seat for everybody. At one end of the table sat Harm and at the other end of the table sat young David Grant. Grams brought the platter out, with the Turkey on it and placed it in front of Harm. Chaplain Turner said grace and Harm started to carve the Turkey.

"Harm, you better be carving me a leg. You know I was always a leg man." Keeter goaded.

"I thought you were the breast man?" Harm joked right back over the buzzing of the electric knife

"No, Sturgis is the breast man." Jack commented and watched with amusement as Chaplain Turner turned to face his son.

"It's Keeter, dad, you know he's full of it." Sturgis protested.

"Nice cover, Sturgis." Mac added.

"Dad, I didn't get to say it." David protested loud enough for the table to hear.

"Didn't get to say what, buddy?" Jim inquired. David whispered in father's ear. "I'm sure everyone would let you say it, David."

"Sure, slugger, what's on your mind?" Harm asked down the table.

"God Bless Us, Everyone." David said with a smile which caused a few laughs but brought a general smile and feeling of contentment to everyone at the table.


	33. Thunder Only Anthems

BEIRUT, LEBANON – 1983

"Captain! Captain, sir, we got them!" A young Marine Corps Corporal called to his Commanding Officer. The capture of several terrorists belonging to a local Hezbollah cell. The bombing of the Marine barracks earlier in the campaign had soured most Marine's attitudes toward the locals and how they were handling the efforts of American and French forces. There were Marine officers that were fast earning reputations for bestriding the urban landscape of Beirut as legends in their own time. Among those legends was a twenty-seven year-old Marine Captain.

"Is Corporal Alazar here, Corporal?" The Captain asked.

"Corporal Alazar, tell these men that I want specific information about the location of the other cells in the area and the man power strength. Tell them that if they do not give me this information, they will be executed mercilessly." The Captain said coolly eyeing down each one of the seven men standing against the wall. Their weapons had been confiscated and on the ground at the Captain's feet were several Kalashnikovs and pistols.

Alazar spoke in Arabic to the men who all seemed to pummel him with responses at once. "Sir, the common sentiment is that they think you're Satan and you can fry in hell, sir." Corporal Alazar responded cautiously.

"Do you know where the liver is, Corporal?" The Captain asked calmly as he pulled his sidearm out of its holster. Corporal Alazar shook his head hesitantly. The Captain brought his pistol down, pointed it at the abdomen of one of the men and fired, wounding him in the abdomen. The man fell forward crying out in pain and bleeding profusely from the wound. "Corporal, let him bleed. I said I'd execute them, I didn't say I'd be clean about it."

"Sir, are you sure, that this is within the regulations?" The Lieutenant stepped forward.

"First off, Lieutenant, these men are enemy combatants in a war zone. Men who likely aided in the deaths of our fellow Marines when that barracks blew up. They're lucky I'm not acting on some of my more brutal tendencies. Also, yes Lieutenant, my actions fall within the parameters of the Geneva Convention, if just barely." The Captain reassured.

He turned toward the remaining six standing men. "Any one else ready to be brave? I've got seven bullets left; I can make this very interesting." The Captain smiled wickedly. A few of the men started ranting and raving at the Captain, snarling and cursing. The tall Marine just stood unaffected, even laughing at their ranting. When one of the men chose to spit at the Captain, the pistol came up again and another bullet left the chamber and entered the middle of the forehead of the offending male, sending his limp form to the ground.

"No one disgraces the Marine Corps uniform by spitting on it." The Captain commented as he lowered the gun to his side again. "Anyone else?" The five remaining men went silent. "Alazar, tell them that if I don't hear some good news in the next few minutes, none of them will survive the hour."

The Corporal did as instructed and the one combatant who appeared to be the oldest of any of them spoke up. Alazar began to translate." Sir, he says that Allah will reap his vengeance upon you for your actions here today and that you will suffer vengeance as the hands of Islam for as long as you live."

The Captain drew up his gun and shot the man between the eyes. "Maybe only as long as he lives." The Captain said as he turned his eyes on the last four men. The Captain had been in Beirut the day that the barracks went up in flames. He been only a few short blocks from the scene and he was determined to prevent similar occurrences from happening in the future. He raised the gun and shot two of the remaining men. One through the lung and the other through the heart.

The two limp forms fell to the ground. The man who had been shot through the lung was not dead. He was crying out and struggling for air like wounded animal or an old hunting dog. The sight of his fallen comrade in such a position caused one man to start talking. He began to rant happily.

"Sir, he says he has some information for you. He says that there is going to be an ambush, another explosion…" The man was silenced by his one remaining comrade who reached out to silence him. This act unleashed the boiling fury inside the Marine Captain. He reached out and grabbed the offending man by the throat and viciously hurled him to the ground and then, sinking to his knee, the Marine drove the heel of his hand at full force against the spine of the man, snapping it in half. The ensuing crack was heard by all the Marines in the area. It was a sound that was deafening, ear-splitting and soul ravishing, it told a dark tale about all that was dark about the human spirit.

The remaining man told the Marines all about the planned ambush for a troop convoy several miles down the road. The Marine Captain took a breath, realizing that the information that he had secured had saved over 200 lives. Six men for more than two-hundred, any one you looked at it, in his mind it was a fair trade. That didn't stop him from leaving a small part of his humanity on the ground in Lebanon

WASHINGTON – 1999

Jim Grant rose up out of bed after a fitful sleep. There were actions of his past that terrified him when he looked back on them. Had he really been that young, that hot-headed, and that brutal? He was coated in a thin sheen of sweat and he was gasping for air. His heart was racing wildly. He got up out of bed and put on his bathrobe and slippers. He ran a hand through his hair as he walked through the apartment. So much was racing through his mind. He'd relived so many of the events of his career over and over in his mind.

When it came down to it. He was just another O'Grady Marine. That was how he rationalized it in his mind. It wasn't the only way. There was a reason that his copy of the Third Geneva Convention had taken up residence in the pocket of this robe. He paced through the apartment. The thick carpet of the floor quieting his footsteps. More than twenty years of his life had been devoted to the Corps but in reality it had been so much more than that.

There were parts of his humanity in scattered parts of the globe. In Lebanon, in Iraq, in Somalia, in Panama, in Liberia; they were everywhere and every time he lost another piece, he could feel a little bit more of the shadow consume him. He had padded across the carpet of the living room in the bulldog slippers that David had bought him for his last birthday, until he stood in the doorway of his son's bedroom.

At eight years-old, the world was so simple for David Grant. Well, relatively simple. Jim was still doing some serious explaining for his little disappearing act in the Albanian bush the previous summer. Jim leaned on the doorframe. He laughed to himself under his breath. David was so much like he was at eight. He breathed and bled Marine green and could whistle the Marine Corps Hymn in his sleep. David was in a more dangerous position though. David's life, his perceptions had been built on his dad the Superman. What would happen the day that David found out the truth? David had a father and in Jim's mind that threatened his son's entire world. How could a man who was so tormented by the ghosts of his past actions be the hero to a boy who was the personification of innocence?

Jim walked into his son's room and knelt down next to the side of his bed. He let his hand fall lightly through his son's hair. "Don't be like me, son. Be a doctor, be a JAG, be President, but don't be me. You deserve the world my boy." Jim whispered quietly.

Angie Harris stood in the doorway to David Grant's room. She stood and watched the man that she loved talk to his sleeping son. She wasn't a fool. She knew that he was harder on himself then anyone could ever be on him. She knew that Jim was the kind of father she'd always prayed that her children would have. A good and honest man. Jim Grant was like George Bailey from _It's a Wonderful Life_, the kind of man who was always willing to give of himself. Even if it killed him. It damn near had on several occasions.

During his last check-up with the orthopaedist at Bethesda, the doctor had decided to comment that Jim had more fault-lines on his physique than California. There were more scars that people didn't see though. The kind of scars that woke him up at 0219 on a Saturday morning and left his pillow coated with sweat. "He's like you, you know? When he knows he can sleep in, you could roll a convoy through this room and you wouldn't wake him up." She smiled drowsily.

"I don't know, Angie. Sometimes this all doesn't seem real. I look down at my hands and I see the hands that taught him how to ride a bicycle, but if the lighting changes ever so slightly, I see the hands that snapped the neck of a sixteen year-old Panamanian guard outside of Noriega's compound." Jim turned his hands as the moonlight streamed in the window behind him.

"You see the father but you also see the soldier, the Marine, the protector. You think that he's naïve; he knows both sides of those hands too. He just knows, thanks to the kind of father that you are, that those hands will only ever be there to comfort him." She walked across the room and began to gently stroke his back. "Now come on, your Uncle Peter taught me how to make that Tennessee Apple Cider the right way. I'll make you a cup and then we can go back to bed."

"I think you're just trying to get me into bed." Jim joked as he got to his feet.

"Damn, you caught on to my plan. What ever will I do now?" Angie joked as she took him by the arm and led him out of the room.

"Well, you could just take me to bed." Jim smiled weakly.

"Naughty Marine." Angie tossed back as they walked back across the apartment.

MEKONG DELTA – 1968

"Ensign, sir, I don't like the looks of the neighbourhood around these parts." The Chief Petty Officer stated as the SEAL team moved through the swamp.

"As opposed to the rest of the country, Marks?" The Ensign replied.

"Point taken, sir. At least we don't have to put up with Jack on this mission, that son of a bitch scares the crap out of me. He's like something out of a Hitchcock movie." Marks commented as they waded through the swamp.

"What exactly are we supposed to be doing, sir?" Petty Officer Jorgen asked as the thick night of Southeast Asia cloaked their movements.

"Reconnaissance in a forward area, Petty Officer. High Command reports Charlie activities in this sector have increased recently and it's endangering supply routes to our troops in the north." The Ensign replied as he ensured that even the sounds made be his men moving through the water were hushed.

There were little tributary streams and rivers all through the country and the one that they were following now brought them remarkably close to the Cambodian border.

In Ensign AJ Chegwidden's mind, something seemed different about this war. He'd heard Korea vets say the same thing about that war. That it wasn't the same, that it wasn't like all the others. There was supposedly something different about this war and event the one before it that made the American people turn their back on the government that they had always turned to in times of crisis. Maybe the problem with Vietnam was that it came on too soon in the wake of the Kennedy assassinations, first John and then Bobby.

Didn't they understand? Was it ignorance that was merely masking itself as righteous outrage? They said that the administration was targeting African-Americans with the draft. Maybe they were but it wasn't his place to play politics. In the jungle, the colour of your skin was unimportant. You all bled the same and you all died the same and when it came down to it, that's what mattered. Ensign Chegwidden didn't make distinctions; the only thing that mattered was the trident on the uniform.

There were massacres in this war. There were massacres in every war. Say what they like about it, D-Day was technically a massacre, at least to any who lost someone on those beaches. The rice paddies and marshes and jungles were horrid conditions in which to fight a war. Curse the whole damn country. The average lifespan of a Second Lieutenant dropped into a hot LZ in this country was sixteen minutes. Someone at twenty-one or twenty-two could only be expected to live sixteen minutes around here. You want to talk tragedies? There was a prime example.

There was a small village along there route. It was expected to be a Victor Charlie safe haven, so were a lot of the villages in the interior of the country. The closer you were to Cambodia or just the further you were from Saigon, the higher the mortality rate was. When they came upon the village, or what remained of it, the place was still smouldering from an obvious Napalm attack that had occurred earlier in the day. There were burned and charred corpses strewn across the ground.

The Huts, which had stood earlier in the day were now piles of ash and sizzling pieces of wood that still stood semi-erect. What was hardest to face though were some of the bodies. The young women and children were the worst. AJ Chegwidden was no fool. He'd been in country long enough to know that young women and even boys as young as nine could be VC, but that didn't make seeing their bodies any easier. Napalm was one very effective tool when it came to morale. The problem was that not just the other guys felt like shit after witnessing its effects.

At the village along the river, there were few survivors, young girls, no more than six. If they were any other demographic, they could be shot as VC sympathizers, but AJ Chegwidden didn't have the heart to issue that order. Not when he saw that they were standing over the corpse of their dead friend. She had been hit with the worst of the Napalm attack. The skin had been burned from the side of her young face, exposing her nerves, muscles and bones to the elements.

It was a heartbreaking scene. War was full of them. Still, they didn't teach you anything at the Academy to deal with them. So, AJ Chegwidden motioned for his team to continue on up the banks of the river to their eventual destination. Knowing that every time he closed his eyes, the image of those two little Vietnamese girls hunching over the body of their dead friend would be tattooed to the inside of his eyelids.

MCLEAN, VIRGINIA – 1999

AJ Chegwidden's eyes flung open and he brought his hands up to interlock his fingers behind his head. That war had indeed cast some long shadows over his life. The inability to get over 'Nam had ultimately cost him his marriage and more nights than not it was costing him his sleep. He got out of bed and decided to go for a walk around the house. There was nothing on TV at 0224 so he didn't bother. He walked into the kitchen and made himself a Hot Toddy.

He walked out into the living room with his drink and walked over to the trophy case that had baseballs and baseball cards and pictures from his old days. He saw the picture that had been taken on July 4th, 1968 with his SEAL team. They were all gone now. Charlie Marks was the last one, that happened during that Gayle Osborne fiasco a few years back. God, it hurt to think about that in this house. The steps outside were where Laura Delaney had died at Osborne's hands.

PTSD. He didn't want to think about it, but it affected a lot of Vietnam vets. He'd seen the effects, as they controlled the lives of people that he had known to be vibrant and lively individuals. He didn't have it, well, that might be a self-diagnosis but he'd never really shown any symptoms of it; other then the dreams. But to be haunted like this was common for someone who had seen as much as he had over the years. The death, the destruction, the carnage, his mind had to find someway to let it all out and a few dreams at night when he was most susceptible was probably only a measured response.

He sipped at the piping hot drink in his hand. Dreams. The word used to mean a song from the seventies that he had heard countless times. The lyrics were certainly telling. _Thunder only anthems, when it's raining._ Well, maybe that's what brought the dreams back now with such intensity. This year, there'd been a lot of rain around him. He'd watched Rabb and MacKenzie run off to Russia and almost get killed. He'd watched Rabb and Grant run off to Syria after MacKenzie and almost get themselves killed. He'd watched Rabb, MacKenzie and Grant run off to Germany with Clayton Webb and almost get themselves blown sky high.

That had to be it, watching his friends go through such completely perilous adventures and being anchored to a desk the whole time. It had to be killing him. As a SEAL and even as a surface warfare commander he was at liberty to help his people when they needed him but he hadn't been with them in Syria or Germany and he'd only just gotten to Russia in the nick of time. There could be little doubt that in his life this year, there had been a lot of rain for AJ Chegwidden. The dreams were thunder, a reverberation of a part of his life were lost in the looming grey clouds of his memory.

He set the empty cup down on the counter and looked out the window. How fitting, it was raining outside. With a self-deprecating smile, he chuckled once under his breath and padded off back to his bedroom. He lay on his bed for a few minutes and just stared up at the ceiling. Thoughts raced through his head but he thrashed through them until his mind existed in silence. His life, his memories of a life in the service were a thunder that only anthemed when it rained.

Harm tossed and turned in his bed, well into the night. His mind raced and left his soul restless. His mind was first clouded with visions of his father, of his going down in the Vietnam jungle in 1969. Of his last moments, trying to protect that woman from Russian soldiers and getting shot. His father had died, a stranger in a strange land. A veritable outcast. Alone, without the people that he loved, because they were thousands of miles of tundra and an ocean away. The images flashed through his mind like some great ghoulish slideshow.

Then his mind shifted, he was at a different time, but the jungle was the existing atmosphere. The familiar approach of Laotian border guards, the rattle of rifle fire, it was a familiar scene that he had lived so many times in his dreams after living it once in his waking hours. Beads of sweat traced lines down his forehead, he saw bullets riddle Gym's body, he saw her die right in front of his eyes as he was pulled back into the jungle, away from a woman that he wasn't sure that he loved but was sure that he abandoned. She'd died with her mother, she wasn't alone but she was abandoned and he was sure that was his fault.

Another flash and the pictures of his mind moved again. This was a scene he had relived time and again as well. A familiar approach to the Seahawk. A familiar blurriness of vision, a familiar voice that was his RIO, telling him that his approach was coming up short. All of which was followed by the sensations of being caught in his ramp strike. Of the F-14 fading into flames. Of emergency teams springing into action, of it all and still there was Mace, dead on the flight deck. A man and a friend who had trusted Harm with his life had died because of it and died alone.

There was another shift, this time it was the desert, but the F-14 was still present. The pilot was familiar and he was good. It took a while for his mind to adjust but then he realized who it was when he heard the voice. Luke. Luke Pendry's last moments on this earth, that was what he was witnessing right now. He saw the Aptern fail and tossed the plane into an invert. He watched as the plane went into the dive that ultimately ended his friend's life. Luke Pendry too had died alone. Without Annie or Josh near him, in fact he had left them behind, much the way Harm's own father had died. Another flash and Harm tossed for the last time in his sleep.

It was a dreary night. It was a familiar pier. Harm saw Diane get in her car and then the scene went black. He heard the shots ring out and a part of his soul bit back at him. The images of his mind went to the crime scene that he had been called out to. The thoughts and feelings that raced through his mind as he unzipped the body bag and saw Diane lying there. The red blood staining a white uniform that she always wore with such pride. Diane Schonke had died. Harm had blamed himself for years, he always believed that he should have gone to the pier that night but he had decided against it and now, the very existence of that memory was as a vulture picking at the remnants of a tortured soul.

Harm shot up in his bed in a cold sweat. He looked to his left to see Mac slumbering peacefully in her side of the bed. God he loved her in a way there were no apt words to describe. He slowly climbed out of the bed and walked across the apartment. He walked into the living room and pulled up a cushion on the couch. He pulled up the fabric under the normal place of the cushion and pulled out a shoebox. He sat on the couch and opened the top of the shoebox.

Inside were memories, times he vowed that it was better not to look back on, there was just too much pain there. He pulled out a few old pictures and postcards to look them over again; this was just too much trouble. After a few minutes, he felt a soft hand caress his shoulder. "I rolled over and you weren't there." Mac pressed her lips into his hair.

"Bad dreams, sorry." Harm responded, tearing his eyes off the photo only momentarily.

"So this is her. No wonder you looked like you'd seen a ghost when we met." Mac picked up a photo from the box.

"Mac, I'm sorry, I should have told you so much earlier, I mean you're the woman I love more then anything in the world. You of all people needed to know about this. Mac, you have to know, that everything I've ever said, ever done, ever felt, it was always about you." Harm pleaded with her. "It was you that helped me make my peace with Diane." He covered her hand with his.

"I know, Harm. I found the shoebox one day when I was vacuuming. I figured you would tell me when you thought the time was right. I won't tell you I wasn't self-conscious but I knew you loved me and I knew that I loved you and more importantly, that I've never felt how I feel when I'm with you and that there was nothing false about that." She wrapped her arms around his neck and pressed her head against his chest.

"You're amazing, you know that?" Harm kissed the top of her head.

"I have help." She lightly began to stroke his chest. "Now, come back to bed. If we don't get enough sleep tonight, we won't be up for our run tomorrow morning."

"You make it sound so appealing." Harm chuckled as she took him by the hand and led him back toward the bed.

"Well I was considering seducing you into my bed, but then I realized one thing that kind of nixed that whole idea." Mac chortled.

"And what was that?" Harm smiled as they crossed back into the bedroom.

"It's your bed, too." Mac slid back under the covers. "Now if you don't get that cute Navy six back in here, I can't be responsible for my actions."

"I love you, oh God, I love you so much." Harm wrapped his arms around Mac and spooned back up against her.

"I know and trust me, my big strong Navy soon to be hubby, the feeling is oh so mutual." Mac ran her hands along his strong forearms. The two of them fell asleep against the pillows of the bed, as the rain and thunder echoed against the windowpanes and asphalt streets of DC.


	34. Out of the Frying Pan

Jim was standing at attention in the Admiral's office with the SECNAV present. He'd been returned to active duty the previous week. His leg was more then completely healed. Here he was, staring over the Admiral's shoulder out the window. "AJ, we all knew that in order for Rabb and MacKenzie to remain under your command after they were married, there was going to have to be some give and take. As a lawyer, Colonel Grant is at par but as a field commander, his skills are unmatched. Since he's being returned to active duty, he's being transferred out of your chain of command and he's being given command of the 22nd MEU on board the Dwight Eisenhower." The SECNAV turned to face Admiral Chegwidden.

"Understood, sir. Surely this can't be all you came here to tell me, sir. This could have been accomplished with a quick phone call." The Admiral coached.

"I have more important news to impart. After his tour with the 22nd, Colonel Grant is set to have the President's nomination to the posting of the Chief Recon Officer for the United States Marine Corps. As you both are well aware, the Chief of Recon is a Major General's billet. Since you're up for flagging, you know that it would be logistically unwise to keep you here." Nelson turned toward Jim. "For the love of God Grant, don't do something stupid to screw this up for yourself."

"Aye, aye, sir." Jim nodded at the Secretary.

"Will that be all, Mr. Secretary?" The Admiral asked, trying to find some way to get Nelson out of his office.

"Yes, AJ, that will be all." Nelson grabbed his coat and headed for the door in the Admiral's office.

"Chief Recon Officer, that's a hell of a promotion. Then again, you've got to spend a few months on a carrier to get their so you don't quite have it in hand yet." The Admiral gave Jim a pat on the shoulder. "Just don't kill anyone, okay?"

"I'll try not to, sir." Jim nodded at the Admiral.

"The Eisenhower is currently serving in the Med, you'll be going out to join them on Friday. Before then, however, I require your help for something, being as you're still the ranking Marine officer here." The Admiral and Jim walked toward the door. "The O-5 board reported out last night and both Rabb and MacKenzie's names were right at the top of the list. I believe that as the ranking Marine officer, it's up to you to exchange Colonel MacKenzie's old gold oak leaves for a shiny new set of silver ones."

The door to the Admiral's office opened and Jim shouted "Attention on deck!" bringing everyone to attention. "Sir, I regret to inform you that Major MacKenzie and Lieutenant Commander Rabb are both out of uniform." Mac and Harm looked each other over but couldn't see what Jim was talking about.

"What do you suggest we do, Colonel?" The Admiral turned his head to face his chief of staff.

"I suggest we correct them, sir." Jim answered with a nod and the two senior officers advanced on their friends until they were all standing toe to toe. The Admiral reached out and pulled Harm's Lieutenant Commander shoulder-boards off.

"It is my privilege to announce that Lieutenant Commander Harmon Rabb Jr. has been promoted to Commander in the United States Navy." The Admiral opened a box containing Harm's new shoulder-boards and he proceeded to attach them to Harm's uniform. The Admiral administered the officer's oath to Harm who raised his right hand and recited the oath. "Major, if you would be so kind." Mac leaned up and kissed Harm on the cheek as was part of the ceremony.

"Now, as to the matter of Major MacKenzie's violation of the regulations on dress and decorum." Jim straightened his arms and unscrewed the gold oak leaves from Mac's collar. "Square up, Marine." He coached with a joking smile. "It is my privilege to announce that Major Sarah MacKenzie has been promoted to Lieutenant Colonel in the United States Marine Corps." Jim opened a box that contained a new set of silver oak leaves and he attached them to Mac's collar. Jim administered the oath which Mac recited, like Harm, with her hand in the air. "Commander, if you would conclude the ceremony." Harm leaned down and kissed his betrothed on the cheek.

"There will be a wetting down for the Commander and the Colonel on Thursday night. Finally, there is one more matter of business which we must attend to. As per an order of the Secretary of the Navy, Colonel Grant will be leaving JAG for the last time on Thursday to assume the mantle of command for the 22nd Marine Expeditionary Unit which is currently deployed on board the Dwight D. Eisenhower in the Pacific. So, Thursday night will also be a farewell party for the Colonel. It would seem prudent to mention that after he returns from the Med, Colonel Grant is being shipped over to the Pentagon as the Chief Recon Officer of the Marine Corps and will be subsequently promoted to Major General." There was a round of applause which greeted this announcement by the Admiral. "That will be all, folks." And the crowd dispersed.

2413 ZULU

MCMURPHY'S TAVERN

WASHINGTON, DC

"Buy you a beer, General?" Harm joked as he took a seat on the stool next to Jim. "How's Angie taking the news that you have to go to the Med for a few months?" Harm asked as the bartender slid a beer down the bar to Harm.

"About as well as can be expected for a woman who is seven months pregnant. I'm only going to be gone two months so her biggest worry at this point is that I'll miss the delivery." Jim shook his head quickly. "And I'm still a Colonel for two more months."

"You have a thorn stuck in your paw or something? I thought you'd be itching to get back out into the field, it's why you became a Marine isn't it." Harm elbowed his friend.

"I guess, it's just that every time I think that I'm too old for them to send me back into the field, they prove me wrong and send me back out. I'm getting up there Harm, the infantry's a young man's game and I'm not as young as I used to be." Jim took drink from the stout that the bartender had put in front of him.

"Who among us is? Listen, you put into everyday what you expect to get out and you just keep going until you get to a place you want to be. That's all you can do and all the Marines or anyone can ask from you." Harm put a hand on his friend's shoulder. "They're going to reward you when you're done this last task. They're going to put a couple of stars on your shoulders and chain you to a desk at the Pentagon, by this time next year you'll be begging to be back out in the field with an MEU."

"What are you doing over here helping be drown my sorrows, that's what the Admiral's for, you go dance with your soon-to-be wife." Jim coached as he pushed Harm back over toward Mac.

"You sure you'll be okay?" Harm asked as he headed back over toward Mac. Jim chuckled and nodded and gave Harm another push.

1311 LOCAL

USS DWIGHT D. EISENHOWER

SOMEWHERE IN THE MEDITERRANEAN

The COD landed on the deck with jerk and Jim uncrossed his arms from in front of his chest. This was going to be the longest two months of his life. He unbuckled his seat belt, grabbed his pack and headed for the door to the aircraft. He hopped out of the door and on to the landing deck where he was confronted by a waiting Marine enlisted man who saluted Jim once he saw his rank insignia. "Colonel Grant, sir?" The Gunnery Sergeant asked.

"That's right, Gunny and who might you be?" Jim responded as he fired off a salute.

"Gunnery Sergeant Victor Galindez, sir." The Gunny answered as the two of them headed off to join up with the rest of the MEU. "I'm your senior non-com."

"Who was the CO of this unit before I got here, Gunny?" Jim asked as he ducked through the hatch and the two of them headed to the lower decks.

"That would be Colonel Gates, sir." Gunny answered as he bounded down the stairs after Jim.

"And who's the XO of this unit, Gunnery Sergeant?" Jim asked as they turned a corner and headed down a hallway for the starboard part of the ship.

"That would be Captain Rhodes, sir." Gunny replied as he tried to keep up with the pace that his new Colonel had set. "Do you have somewhere that you need to be, sir? You seem to be hell bent on getting somewhere awful fast."

"I intend on going to meet the rest of the MEU, Gunny. Is there some regulation saying I can't do that?" Jim turned his face to read the expression on the Gunny's.

"No sir, it's just that I would have assumed that you would want to go on to the bridge to meet with Captain MacMillan." Gunny offered as they neared the Marine enlisted quarters. "Attention on deck!" Gunny commanded and all the Marines sprang to their feet.

"At ease." Jim motioned for all the Marines to relax. "My name is Colonel James T. Grant. I have been assigned to this unit because with the escalation of tensions in the Adriatic, it was believed that you could use someone with real experience in this part of the world. I've served in Lebanon, Bosnia, Kosovo and the Gulf. I have no doubt that you men have some loyalty to Colonel Gates, that is something which I cannot condemn you for. On the contrary, I commend you for it, loyalty marks the sign of a good Marine. You are an MEU, which means that you are a rapidly deployable and special operations capable warfare tool for the United States Navy. As of this moment, you are my Marines and I will use the tools at my disposal to make sure that you are the best fighting unit that this carrier group has ever seen." Jim turned on heel and came face to face with Gunny. "That'll be all Gunnery Sergeant, I think I'll go visit with Captain MacMillan now."

"Aye, aye, sir." Gunny nodded and led the Colonel through the corridors of the carrier toward the bridge. Gunny wasn't quite sure what to think of his new unit commander. The man had the fruit salad on his chest to tell Gunny that he was a serious combat vet and the Pentagon never would have sent him out here if they didn't expect the 22nf to be back in the soup somewhere in the region sometime soon. For Jim's part, it had been a long time since he had been on a carrier. When he was between Recon teams in the late seventies they had sent him to XO the 19th MEU on board the USS Thomas Paine.

"Officer on deck!" The Master at Arms called out as Jim made his way on to the bridge. Jim came to attention and saluted the Captain of the ship.

"You would be Colonel Grant." Captain Peter MacMillan raised his head to face the new commanding officer of the MEU onboard his ship.

"That's what the Pentagon tells me, sir." Jim answered with quick nod of the head.

"Medal of Honour recipient, two silver stars, three bronze stars, two purple hearts and a Navy Cross. You seem to be something out of Pentagon folk-lore, Colonel. Just keep your Marines from interacting negatively with my sailors. Just remember who outnumbers who on this ship, Colonel." The Captain stood toe to toe with Jim.

"Just one question, sir?" Jim had a fake smile plastered across his face.

"What would that be, Colonel?" The Captain returned his eyes to a paper.

"Just wondering if allowing my men free run of the female enlisted quarters constituted negative interaction, Captain." Jim shot sarcastically and Gunny tried to hide some real laughter.

"That will be all, Colonel." The Captain used his best authoritative, dismissive tone. Jim and Gunny both turned around and headed off the bridge.

"Sir, I'm not sure how wise it was to antagonize the Captain, he is kind of the authority on the ship." Gunny followed Jim down a set of stairs.

"Gunny, someone has to keep the Squids in line and if we left it up to the ground-pounders all the time nothing would ever get done." Eventually Gunny and Jim returned to the level where the Marines were quartered. "I'm guessing that I'm rooming with my XO, Gunny?"

"Yes, sir, you're just down the hall from enlisted quarters." Gunny pointed to the door on his left and Jim tapped on the hatch. A younger, blonder Marine Captain came to the door. Captain Rhodes was only an inch or two shorter than Jim and he was obviously an Annapolis grad as one could observe from the class ring on his hand.

"Captain Eli Rhodes, sir." Captain Rhodes snapped to attention and fixed a salute.

"Nice to meet you, Captain, I expect you to help me get the rest of the unit out of bed bright and early every morning so that they can be dragged into the weight room. I can't have you guys getting soft just because we're out here, floating on this giant steel life raft." Jim gave Captain Rhodes a pat on the shoulder before heading into the room.

"Yes, sir." Captain Rhodes was enthusiastic.

"Good, let's get to work." Jim clapped his hands together and threw his pack down on his bunk.

0455 LOCAL

USS DWIGHT D. EISENHOWER

OFF THE COAST OF CYPRUS

FOUR WEEKS LATER

"Where the hell is Grant and the Marines?" Captain MacMillan shouted as he paced the bridge.

"Jogging, Captain." The XO answered.

"Jogging? For Christ's sake, we're on an aircraft carrier where the hell could they jog?" The Captain demanded.

"The corridors and hallways, sir. They treat the knee-knockers like hurdles. They're really very good, I know that the women line up and whistle at them as they go passed, it's really done wonders for morale, that Colonel Grant sure is…" The Captain cut off his XO.

"Sure is what, Commander?" MacMillan looked really annoyed by now.

"A Marine, sure, Colonel Grant sure is a Marine." The Commander immediately corrected himself.

"Just direct the Colonel and his running posse up here, would you, XO?" MacMillan braced himself and looked out on to the clear blue ocean off the starboard bow. A few seconds later, the column of pacing and panting Marines were on the bridge. "Good Morning, Colonel."

"Matter of opinion, Skipper. You wanted to see me and my Marines, sir." Jim, Rhodes and Gunny all stood up to face the Skipper.

"We got a call from CENTCOM in Naples who received an urgent dispatch from UNDOF. They're facing a third straight day of escalating protests which, thanks to Hezbollah support, are likely to get worse and they fear that they may face an armed demonstration today." Captain MacMillan explained. "Since our battle group is in the area, the 22nd MEU is being sent for reinforcement of UN troops and tactical support. Standard ROEs apply, your rides will be waiting for you gentlemen on the deck in twenty-two minutes sharp, I suggest you be ready, Marines."

"Alright, men let's load it up, sounds like some folks need our help." Jim slapped his hands together and the Marines hauled ass back to quarters to get ready for their missions. To no one's surprise, they were all out on the deck less then twenty minutes later in full desert camouflage. They were going to take two Hueys and a CH-46 Sea-Knight. The Marines climbed into their respective rides. "Gunny, you stick with most of the men in the Phrog. The Captain and I will take our respective teams in the Hueys, we'll see you on the ground in the Golan." They went off to the helicopters and the birds took off into the air.

They had gotten permission to clear Israeli airspace with no hassle, in fact the Israeli Chief of Defence Staff had come on the radio himself to wish them good luck. Not that that was a big surprise, an incident like this one would set Western public opinion in favour of Israel and against Damascus. Still, the helicopters speeded off toward the Golan Heights where the UNDOF forces were about to come into contact with what was supposed to be close to fifty thousand Syrian protestors. Of course, in this region of the world, it was easy for Hezbollah or Hamas terrorists to blend into such a crowd.

After almost two hours in the helicopters, they landed on the helipad in the UN zone in the Golan. They were promptly greeted by the base commanding officer and his staff. "When we asked you CENTCOM for help, we did not know that they would reply so quickly." The General replied.

"They try their damnedest." Jim replied. "Colonel Jim Grant, commanding officer of the 22nd Marine Expeditionary Unit."

"Brigadier General Singh, Commander of the UNDOF zone. It is very nice to meet you, Colonel. Your Marines will be a great help to us today." The General shook Jim's hand.

"Have the protests turned violent yet, General?" Jim asked as the Marines followed him and General Singh toward the forward observation posts.

"They are more violent today then they were yesterday. The chants have become more aggressive and they are discharging weapons into the air." The General explained as they neared the wall of the outermost observation post in the Northern sector. "My men are bound by tight Rules of Engagement, your men have lighter restrictions, we required your assistance only in case we believe that our complex may be overrun, Colonel."

Jim stopped and thought for a second. "Captain Rhodes, take your men and the Gunnery Sergeant's men and prone them along the wall here. My team will stake out positions in that adjacent tower. Rhodes, make sure you're in radio contact at all time." The Captain did as he was told and he set up his men along the wall.

"What are your intentions, Colonel?" General Singh asked as he attempted to keep up with the brisk pace that seemed to be the Marine operating speed.

"My intentions, General, sir, are to maintain the most optimal level of peace that is humanly possible because if the Syrians overrun this compound, the next stop is Israel on the other side and I _know_ that the Israelis won't hesitate to shoot them." Jim snapped turning to face General Singh. "You called my men in because you want our help, well, we're helping you give me the word and I'll be out of here on those helicopters faster then you can say 'boo'."

"No, no, of course, I require your assistance, Colonel, perhaps I am just not used to your Marine attitude. Although I was warned that you can be quite, how you say, Gung-ho." The General smiled sympathetically which cause Jim to chuckle before heading into the observation tower toward the stairs that were inside. Jim and Gunny climbed the stairs with their fourteen man team, but just as they were about to get to the top there was a loud explosion and the rapid repeating sound of gunfire outside the tower.

The team of Marines scrambled toward the apex of the tower. They maintained a crouched position as they neared the rails and peered out into the crowd below. "Amazing how fast a peaceful demonstration can deteriorate when you mix a few radical terrorists into the mix, huh General?" Jim asked as he motioned for his radio operator. He picked up the radio and called Captain Rhodes who was on the wall below. "Captain, what the hell happened down there?"

"It was a grenade, sir." Rhodes voice answered frantically.

"Well, Jesus Christ, Rhodes, look out for yourself. Any casualties?" Jim asked, the grim demeanour soon returning to the Marine's face.

"PFC Ljubcic's leg looks like hell, sir. He was the closest to the blast when the grenade went off, I sent two of the UNDOF guys to evac him down to the clinic." Rhodes answered. "Sir, we're taking some light AK fire down here, what are your orders?"

"Anyone down there who can speak Arabic, Captain?" Jim asked.

"Sir, the only member of the unit who can speak Arabic is Sergeant Ben-Ali and he's up there with you, sir." Captain Rhodes informed his commanding officer. Jim handed the radio to Gunny.

"Sergeant! Get over here!" Jim shouted and the Sergeant came scrambling over. Jim turned toward General Singh. "Is there anyway we can patch this radio through to the base loudspeaker?"

"Sir?" A young private in the middle of the tower got everyone's attention as he grabbed an AV patch-chord and plugged it into the communication base system in the tower. The firing of an AK in the crowd below could be heard and Gunny tackled the young private to the floor of the white stone tower.

"Watch out, Private, you DNKY." Gunny tapped the young man on the helmet.

"DNKY?" General Singh questioned.

"Damn Near Killed Yourself." Jim explained. The radio created some feedback in the communication system but it was operational. "Sergeant Ben-Ali, tell the crowd that they are to drop their weapons and cease hostilities or face retaliation."

"Should you really threaten them?" General Singh questioned.

"If I don't, what reason do they have for dropping their weapons?" Jim asked. He could hear Ben-Ali speak in Arabic and he could hear the loudspeaker broadcast the warning twice before it went silent. But rather then cease the firing of weapons, the aggression seemed to intensify. The yelling got louder and grenades and Molotov cocktails were hurled on to the wall. The sound of AK-47 fire intensified. "Captain Rhodes, how's it look down there?"

"Like the dam is about to burst, sir!" Rhodes shouted as a grenade burst nearby. "I've got four Marines down wounded and one is KIA, sir. He was burned to death when he got caught between two Molotovs." Jim pressed the mouthpiece to the radio to his forehead for a second before lowering it to his mouth again but before he could speak, Rhodes took over again. "Sir, permission to return fire?"

"Negative, maintain defensive positions." Jim returned then he thought for a second. "Await further orders." Jim returned the radio mouthpiece to Gunny. "Gunnery Sergeant, is there any way that we might be able to safely evacuate the civilians from that crowd?"

"Not without losing a lot of Marines, sir. Even if we could, there's no reason to believe that we don't lose some terrorists in the lot." Gunny replied.

"General Singh?" Jim turned to face the Commander of the UN zone. The Indian General was silent. "Sergeant, issue the warning two more times, this time make two things very obvious. One, that we want civilians to leave and two, that we are prepared to retaliate." Jim listened as the Sergeant issued the warning again but to no avail. By this time explosives were being lobbed up into the tower. They were crashing down around him and his team. When one engulfed the private that had set up the comm. link earlier, Jim snapped. "Rhodes!" Jim shouted into the radio.

"Yes, sir." The frantic voice of Captain Rhodes came over the radio.

"Open fire, Captain!" Jim shouted, his voice barely audible over the gunfire and explosions .

"Come again, sir?" Captain Rhodes answered.

"Jesus Christ, Rhodes, are you fucking thick? Shoot the little bastards!" Jim returned the radio to Gunny and turned to face the crowd in the pit beneath the wall. In that instant, Marines from both sides opened fire on the crowd that had gathered under the wall. The sound of their M16 fire drowned out all else. The crowd in the pit below was massacred. The Marines were sure to spare those who retreated or surrendered but everyone else was shot.

"Cease fire! Cease fire!" Jim shouted from his place on the tower and the M16 fire only slightly slowed. The Marine Colonel flew down the stairs to the wall parapet below. "Cease fire!" He shouted again as he forcefully pulled Marines off their weapons. The firing of guns stopped on the Colonel's command but in the pit below the carnage was already painfully evident. The sands were stained red with blood. Jim took off his helmet and wiped his brow.

"Sir, we had to, sir." Captain Rhodes explained as he walked over.

"What were our casualties, Captain?" Jim asked without turning to face his second in command.

"Down here on the wall was six wounded and two dead, sir." Captain Rhodes, replied his face still white as a ghost.

"Five wounded, three dead up in the tower, Colonel." Gunny said as he showed up next to Jim. The Marines began to fallout back off the wall into the compound.

"I think it would be wise if you and your men left now, Colonel." General Singh stated with a firm conviction, his arms crossed in front of his chest. Jim nodded as he, Gunny and Captain Rhodes led the Marines back toward the choppers. The stretchers and wounded were loaded on and Jim, Gunny and Rhodes climbed into the CH-46.

"No matter what they tell you at the Academy, it, it never quite prepares you for what actually happens to you when you see it." Rhodes had his head bent over between his knees.

"I know, son, I know. I've been a part of every major skirmish since the end of the Vietnam War and trust me, it never gets any easier." Jim put a comforting hand on the back of the young officer as the choppers lifted off the ground to take them whisk them off back to the Eisenhower.

1948 LOCAL

USS DWIGHT D EISENHOWER

OFF THE COAST OF CYPRUS

Jim was sitting at his desk in his quarters filling out the daily after action report when a knock came at his hatch. He hadn't been back from the Golan for more then two hours and no one in his unit ever knocked before entering his quarters. Jim looked up from his papers to see two men with black MP arm badges on their arms. "Colonel Grant, sir?" The two men asked.

"Yes." Jim answered with a nod.

"Sir, you're going to have to come with us." One MP walked over and took Jim by the arm.

"Why is that, Sergeant?" Jim asked as the man ushered him to the door.

"Orders from CENTCOM, sir. You're being charged with breach of peace, negligent homicide, direct disobedience of orders and issuing an unlawful order, sir." The MP informed him.

"In other words a political scapegoat." Jim had to chuckle in a self-deprecating way. "This is pathetic." The two men handcuffed the Colonel and led him down the hallway toward the stairs rather then the brig. "Where are we headed."

"SECNAV orders are to try you in Naples rather then onboard , Colonel." The MP answered. As Jim was being led down the hall the Marines of his unit lined the hallways and fixed salutes to their foreheads as their CO passed them. When he got to the end of the row, Jim came upon Gunnery Sergeant Galindez.

"Anything you need, sir?" Gunny asked.

"Yes, Gunny. Put in a ship to shore call to JAG Headquarters in Washington. Tell them that as per my rights under the UCMJ, I'm retaining Lieutenant Colonel Sarah MacKenzie and Commander Harmon Rabb Jr. as my trial council." Jim groaned angrily, through gritted teeth.

"Aye, aye, sir." Gunny fired off a salute and headed straight for the ship to shore phone.


	35. Into the Fire

"Alright people, you've no doubt heard the news by now." The Admiral took a seat at the table. "Rabb, MacKenzie, I trust that you've both been notified that you're going to be defending the Colonel."

"Aye, sir." Harm nodded as he leaned into the middle of the table and faced the Admiral.

"The Secretary of the Navy doesn't think that my office can objectively prosecute this case, but being as he wasn't completely sure of that assessment, he has allowed me to assign a second chair to the prosecution. Commander Turner, that honour goes to you." The Admiral slid the folder down the table to Sturgis. "Tiner has plane tickets for the three of you from Dulles to Naples this afternoon. You have the day off to get ready."

"Sir, one question before you dismiss us." Sturgis asked as he got up out of the chair.

"What would that be, Commander?" The Admiral acknowledged his officer.

"Who will be sitting first chair for the prosecution, sir?" Sturgis asked.

"That decision has been left up to the SECNAV." The Admiral dodged the question so that he might by some time to convince the SECNAV to reconsider just letting Turner and Roberts handle the defence.

"Well, has the SECNAV decided on someone, sir?" Mac questioned as they all moved out of the conference room.

"He released a temporary decision but he and I are still discussing who would be the best prosecutor in this case. The Secretary has made it painfully obvious that he wants the best axe-man in the whole JAG corps, so I suggested Commander Turner and he demanded someone outside this office." The Admiral explained as they headed toward the bullpen. "I suggest the three of you pack for Naples."

"Aye, sir." The three officers clicked their heels together before heading off to their offices. Meanwhile, AJ Chegwidden rushed into his office to put through a call to the Secretary of the Navy. After a few rings of the telephone, Alex Nelson picked up the other end of the phone.

"Mr. Secretary, this is Admiral Chegwidden. I need to talk to you about the matter concerning the prosecution of the Grant case, sir." The Admiral launched into it.

"AJ, I've already made my decision as to who is going to lead the prosecution in this matter. The only way that Colonel Grant can have any career in the Marine Corps once this trial is over is if he is acquitted on every charge having faced the toughest prosecution that the United States Navy can offer. Turner can sit second chair, but my choice will lead the prosecution. Are we clear?" The Secretary was obviously in no mood to be questioned. AJ Chegwidden turned off the phone and tented his fingers. This was going to be one very long week.

1019 LOCAL

NLSO SIGONELLA

NAPLES, ITALY

The courtroom was packed with reporters as the defence team entered the court for the arraignment. They all got in late last night so, Harm and Mac had very little time to sit with their client. They practically had to fly through the interviews with Captain Rhodes and Gunnery Sergeant Galindez.

As Harm had so colloquially put it in the hotel room this morning. "At least we aren't up shit creek without a paddle." Mac and Harm flanked Jim as they led him into the courtroom. Jim was dressed in his Marine Green Class A uniform complete with ribbons and his Medal of Honour. The idea that Harm had come up with was to present Jim as the ideal Marine, a real war hero who wouldn't randomly commit something that bordered on a war crime.

They all clustered around the defence table. "Sorry to drag you two out here, I realize that the tow of you have better things to do then rescue the career of some aging leatherneck." Jim gave Harm a pat on the back.

"No problems here, it was a light week back in Falls Church." Harm reassured his friend. "Remember to keep your temper under your hat during the arraignment and the voir dire, the last thing we need is for you to fly off the handle, the members will have a hard enough time ahead of them when they see the pictures of the crime scene."

"Good morning, Commander." An all too familiar deep female voice introduced. Harm noticeably winced. He didn't need to turn around to know who was behind him. Harm eventually turned around and saw Commander Alison Krennick standing next to Sturgis.

"Good Morning to you as well, Commander. This is Lieutenant Colonel Sarah MacKenzie." Harm made the necessary introductions. Mac nodded as she shook Krennick's hand. "You're the prosecutor for this case?"

"I consider it a compliment from the Secretary that he has such faith in my abilities. Who knows Commander, this might get me transferred back to JAG." Krennick winked at him before heading over to the prosecution's table.

"Harm, you and I are going to have a serious talk about what that was when we get back to the hotel." Mac threatened with a pointed finger.

"All rise!" The guard called as the judge entered the court. "Docket number 918A27 People .v. Grant. The Defendant, Colonel James Tecumseh Grant is charged with the following violations of the Uniform Code of Military Justice: Article 89, Disrespect Toward a Superior Commissioned Officer; Article 90, Wilful Disobedience of a Superior Commissioned Officer; Article 92, Failure to obey an order or regulation; Article 116, Breach of Peace; Article 119 subsection B1, Manslaughter by culpable negligence; and finally Article 133, Conduct Unbecoming an Officer and Gentleman. The Honourable Colonel George Koudakis presiding."

"Be seated." The Marine Colonel motioned for people to sit. "How do you plead, Colonel?"

"Not guilty on all counts, your honour." Jim stated.

"Alright, let's discuss bail, what are the people suggesting, Commander Krennick?" The judge looked up at Krennick.

"People are requesting remand your honour, in light of the Colonel's crimes and the high amount of media scrutiny surrounding this case." Krennick piped up.

"I imagine that you have some objection to this Commander Rabb?" The judge turned to face Harm.

"Absolutely, your honour. Colonel Grant is a highly decorated and respected member of the United States Marine Corps. Considering the circumstances of the alleged crime, one can conclude that the circumstances do not exist to consider the Colonel a danger to society and he certainly does not constitute a flight risk." Harm argued as he got out from behind the desk.

"I see no reason that Colonel Grant cannot be released on his own recognizance. I'm sorry, Commander Krennick but this round goes to Commander Rabb. We'll being voir dire proceedings tomorrow and we'll commence with the trial next Monday. If my information is correct that all the witnesses to the incident are accounted for on base or in the Naples area?" The judge looked up at the advocates.

"That's correct, sir." Harm answered.

"Then this course is in recess." Colonel Koudakis banged his gavel and dismissed the court.

1311 LOCAL

BASE HOUSING

NAPLES, ITALY

"They stuck all of us in one base house? That was awful nice of them." Mac remarked. "At least it's better than that hotel that Tiner had us booked for."

"I suppose you'll say that my cooking is better then room service, too." Angie came out from the kitchen carrying a large pan. A wide smile grew on Jim's face.

"Honey, when did you get here?" Jim rushed over to hug Angie and quickly noticed the abdominal obstruction halting his progress. "You're as big as a house." The woman tossed him a nasty look. "I meant that in a good way and only a good way." Jim tried to cover. "I'm in a lot of trouble, huh?"

"Speaking of men who are in a lot of trouble." Mac started and raised a finger into Harm's face. "Harm, just how do you know that prosecutor?"

"Mac, it's nothing really. Commander Krennick was stationed at JAG a few years ago. She came on to me a lot and I threw her a lot of red lights but I guess Krennick just never got the hint." Harm placed a hand on Mac's shoulder.

"Harm, let's just get to work on the case, huh?" Jim slugged his friend in the shoulder. "I had no idea that they were going to charge me with half of the bloody UCMJ."

"Well, you did create a major international incident but Krennick is known for being overly ambitious so I guess you got screwed by the circumstances on this one, Colonel. My strategy for tomorrow is…" Harm began to continue but Mac cut him off.

"Wait up there a second, Commander. You're not the superior officer any more so you don't just get to proclaim yourself as first chair." Mac intervened with her typical Marine audacity.

"If you two will excuse me, for the time being, I'm still the senior officer here since the Eagles on my shoulders scream louder then any amount of oak leave sewn together. So, here's how this is going to work. Harm is first chair; he's got the experience going up against opposing council." Jim let Harm take over again after he finished his proclamation.

"As I was saying, I think the best strategy for us tomorrow is to have Jim and I sitting in on the voir dire and to have you out there chasing down witnesses. Krennick's witness list has Captain MacMillan and General Singh right at the top of it along with that she's got a laundry list of evidence. Mac, I think there are three people we need to put up there to establish what really happened; you get Gunny Galindez, Captain Rhodes and Sergeant Ben-Ali. From what I heard yesterday, they're the closest thing we've got to good witnesses." Harm sat down in a chair.

"They're impeachable if Krennick's good enough, well maybe not impeachable but their objectivity could be called into question." Mac added.

"Krennick won't go after the Gunny or Ben-Ali, she considers enlisted men to be below her. She'll let Sturgis tackle that part of the job, she'll go for the jugular on Captain Rhodes, though." Harm advised.

"Did I ever tell you that you have a sexy mind?" Mac asked.

"Once in a while." Harm tossed coyly.

1728 LOCAL

CAFÉ DORMIANI

NAPLES, ITALY

"How did voir dire go?" Mac asked as the guys met up with them at the café.

"About as well as can be expected. We've got four of the six members chosen; all of them are Marine officers." Harm pulled out a chair.

"I'm surprised that Commander Krennick didn't challenge for cause." Mac said through a mouthful of veal.

"She tried, the senior member however was a Marine of unimpeachable character." Jim added as he took a seat. Mac looked surprisingly curious.

"The Chief of Staff of CENTCOMMED, he's a Marine Major General." Harm explained. "The other three members are two birds and a light Colonel."

"Sounds like it's going in our favour, so far." Angie looked up from her pasta primavera to find everyone looking at her with raised eyebrows. "What? He's mine and he's on trial for his life, I'm just as involved with this case as any of you are."

"We need two more members tomorrow and we're running out of senior and flag Marine officers to stick on this members panel. We move to Navy officers next, starting with pilots, SEALs and Surface Warfare." Harm pinched the bridge of his nose. "I have never gone through anything this painstaking. Krennick seemed determined to nix anyone with Jim's level of combat experience or more."

"Makes sense, she doesn't want anyone who could be sympathetic if we enter his record into evidence which we most certainly will, she doesn't want anyone who will identify with it." Mac reasoned.

"Except for the fact that Krennick's ambition as usual has been able to override her common sense. A Marine Major General with years of combat infantry experience however will be able to identify with a Colonel in Jim's situation. As the senior member of the panel and someone with years of leadership experience, if we can convince him, we'll have a good chance with our case." Harm theorized.

"It doesn't exactly hurt our case that the defendant that they'll be looking at is the President's nominee to fill the vacancy as the Chief of Marine Special Forces." Mac added.

"Poor Sturgis, I can only imagine the hell that Krennick must be putting him through." Harm shook his head. "How did the witness interviews go today?"

"We definitely have to put Gunnery Sergeant Galindez, Captain Rhodes and Sergeant Ben-Ali on the stand, the three of them were in the best position to observe what happened that day. I think I should do the initial questioning for them."

"Why is that, Mac?" Harm asked.

"Because she's a Marine and so are they; combat Marines don't take kindly to being questioned by Squids. You might have been able to question Ben-Ali without having him get combative with you but Rhodes and Galindez would bust your nuts." Jim explained as he scratched his head.

"I also think we should put Private First Class Slava Ljubcic on the stand." Mac added.

"The Private's a good man, but he couldn't offer an opinion on what happened that day. He was one of the first ones injured in the fighting." Jim answered.

"That's true, but that's what makes PFC Ljubcic such a good witness, the only thing he can testify to is how he was wounded and what happened before everything went to shit." Mac explained as she wrapped some fettuccine on her fork.

"Alright, there is one last hitch in this whole plan." Harm pulled a piece of paper out from his briefcase. "Krennick just updated her witness list."

Mac read through the list until her eyes noticeably fixated on one name. "General Richard Sorenson, USAF; she's calling the Commanding General of CENTCOMMED?" Mac was evidently surprised. "Okay, we have to add one more person to the list of people you can't question."

"Do I need to ask why? I'm guessing you have a reason." Harm rolled his eyes.

"Yeah, you get confrontational when you have to deal with Air Force officers. I think Mac's got it laid out right. She questions the Marines and the Commanding General of CENTCOMMED; you get General Singh and Captain MacMillan along with the opening and closing statements." Jim spread his index and middle fingers in a tent on the table.

"See, this is the problem with having a client who is a lawyer." Harm mused.

0855 LOCAL

NLSO SIGONELLA

NAPLES, ITALY

"All rise." The Master at Arms called as the judge came into the courtroom.

"Be seated." Colonel Koudakis motioned for everyone to sit. "After what was an exhausting voir dire process, I believe we're able to commence proceedings now. Commander Krennick are you ready to proceed with your opening statement?"

"Yes, sir." Krennick answered.

"Very well then, Commander, proceed." The Judge sat back and let Krennick begin her opening remarks. Krennick walked out into the courtroom and pulled a black cover off an easel. There were large black and white photos filled with the carnage of the incidents of that day.

"It is the duty of every officer, regardless of rank or service or gender or age to act with discretion as they perform their duties or exercise their command. When called on to lend aid, that must be their aim and they must consider that to be their order from their Commanding Officer, that they are to _lend aid_. On March 6th, orders came into the USS Dwight D. Eisenhower from CENTCOMMED; there orders were to lend aid and logistical support to United Nations forces in the UNDOF zone that rested along the border between Syria and Israel. Their orders were not to engage an enemy involved in a conflict with the United States, their orders were simply to lend aid. By ordering his men to fire into the crowd, Colonel Grant violated that order. They took an unstable part of the world, where protests such as this were an everyday occurrence and they committed a massacre. Is this the image that the United States wants to convey to the world about our use of military power? Is it the message you want to send to our officers, that they can randomly engage imagined threats? The prosecution will show beyond reasonable doubt that Colonel Grant, in issuing his orders of March 6th, wilfully violated the articles of the UCMJ he is charged with violating and for that, you must find him guilty." Krennick headed back toward her chair and took a seat.

"Commander Rabb, do you wish to make an opening statement?" Colonel Koudakis turned toward the defence table. Harm nodded and rose from his seat.

"Marine Corps officers are unlike any other officer in the United States Military. Marines are the first into every engagement and their officers must know the Rules of Engagement and the procedures for engaging a perceived threat when variables that went unimagined in the planning process, come into reality. For more then twenty years, Colonel James Grant has exemplified what it is to be an officer in the United States Marine Corps. One examination of his record will show that Colonel Grant has led Marines into every military skirmish since the end of the Vietnam War and his efforts have won him the highest military commendations that we can award to our brave fighting men. With all these years of combat experience are we to believe that Colonel Grant mistook a peaceful demonstration for an armed insurrection as the prosecution would have us believe? What the defence will establish is that in issuing his orders on March 6th, Colonel Grant acted within the parameters of the Rules of Engagement and the Uniform Code of Military Justice to faithfully represent the interests of the United States and wilfully obey his orders to the best of his abilities as a Marine Corps officer and when the unforeseen arose yet again, Colonel Grant used his years of experience as a Marine to save his Marines and the United Nations forces who called on him for support. The fact is that Colonel Grant had no orders laid out for him were he to encounter violent resistance so he did what any good officer does, he stuck to the rules and when the rules authorized the use of force, he followed those rules as well. For that, we cannot rightfully punish him." Harm turned on heel and returned to his seat.

"Rabb two, Krennick zero." Jim whispered to Mac.

"Would the prosecution like to call its first witness?" Judge Koudakis looked up from his papers at Krennick.

"Prosecution calls Captain Roger MacMillan." Krennick announced and the Captain came walking in the back doors and down the centre aisle toward the witness stand. The Captain stood in the witness stand and was sworn in by the Master at Arms.

"Would you please state your name, rank and current billet for the record, sir?" Krennick asked.

"Captain Roger MacMillan, I'm the Skipper onboard the USS Dwight D. Eisenhower." MacMillan answered.

"Captain, what were the orders that you received from CENTCOMMED on the early morning of March 6th?" Krennick asked as she paced the floor.

"That the Marines of the 22nd MEU were to be sent to the UNDOF zone in the Golan Heights to lend aid and provide logistical support for the UN forces in the area." MacMillan answered.

"And these were the same orders that you repeated to Colonel Grant?" Krennick asked.

"Not verbatim, Commander, but I did provide the Colonel with a written copy of the exact order as is SOP." MacMillan answered.

"So, the Colonel had ample knowledge of his direct orders from CENTCOMMED?" Krennick pushed.

"That's correct, Commander." MacMillan nodded.

"His orders were not to engage the protestors at the UNDOF zone?" Krennick questioned.

"No, Commander." MacMillan shook his head slightly.

"Thank you, Captain, that's all." Krennick returned to her seat and Harm got to his feet.

"Captain, as the Skipper of the Eisenhower you are the ranking officer in the carrier battle group, correct?" Harm asked as he approached the witness stand.

"Objection, relevance." Krennick rose from her seat.

"Goes to state of mind, your honour." Harm fired off quickly.

"Overruled, but get me their fast, Commander. You may answer the question, Captain." Judge Koudakis raised a hand to his chin.

"Yes, that's true, Commander." Captain MacMillan affirmed.

"How was your relationship with Colonel Grant?" Harm asked.

"At first, the Colonel and I would clash a lot but over his time on the ship, we came to respect each other. The Colonel is probably the best Marine and one of the craziest son of a bitches I've ever heard the privilege of serving with. His Marines were extremely loyal to him." The Captain was smiling.

"Sir, in your role as the ranking officer in the battle group, if the battle group were attacked, and you were unable to communicate with CENTCOMMED or COMSIXTHFLT, what would your method of reaction be?" Harm asked with lighter tone to his voice.

"I would follow the rules of engagement as established for me by the authorities at the Pentagon. I would launch flight ops to engage whatever enemy had attacked the carrier group. My birds would warn the enemy to disengage, if that failed, they would have weapons free to engage their target." Captain MacMillan explained.

"So, you would defend the sailors under your command despite not having direct orders from your fleet commander specifying any orders concerning such a conflict?" Harm asked.

"Objection, your honour, ambiguous and hypothetical." Krennick launched to her feet.

"No, I want to answer." MacMillan interrupted the objection.

"Proceed, Captain." Judge Koudakis motioned toward the witness.

"You're damn right I would, Commander." MacMillan answered.

"I have nothing further for this witness, your honour." Harm turned back toward his seat.

"Re-direct Commander Krennick?" Koudakis asked.

"Not at this time your honour, prosecution reserves the right to recall." Krennick added.

"So noted, call your next witness." The Judge began tapping his pen.

"Prosecution calls Brigadier General Jandawhar Singh." Krennick announced. The doors at the back of the courtroom opened up and General Singh came walking down the centre aisle. The Master at Arms administered the oath and General Singh took a seat.

"Would you please state your name, rank and current billet station for the record, General?" Krennick asked.

"Brigadier General Jandawhar Singh, Indian Army, currently serving as the Commanding Officer of the United Nations Disengagement Observer Force in the Golan Heights." Singh answered Krennick.

"General Singh, did you petition the United States CENTCOMMED for assistance in conducting your operations in the Golan?" Krennick asked as she got up from her seat.

"I did, Commander." Singh nodded.

"Was your petition for assistance complied with?" Krennick followed up.

"Yes, Commander, in that late morning of March the sixth, the Marines of your 22nd Marine Expeditionary Unit were flown in to the UNDOF zone and I met with Colonel Grant the second he stepped off the helicopter." Singh had his fingers intertwined.

"What was your initial impression of the Colonel?" Krennick asked.

"Your Colonel was completely focused on the situation at hand. He immediately inquired as to the state of the protests and whether the violence had escalated from what he had last heard. I told him that the violence had escalated and that there were protesters firing weapons. I would say that my initial impression based on this was that your CENTCOMMED had sent me a very competent and efficient officer." Singh concluded.

"What happened after that, General?" Krennick asked.

"The Colonel positioned most of his men along the wall and left them under the eye of Captain Rhodes while he, along with the Gunnery Sergeant and myself took a team of Marines into the observation and forward communication tower. His men on the wall below began taking fire, and the Colonel had the only Arabic speaking member of his team deliver a warning, which was repeated. The Colonel then consulted with the Gunny about whether it would be possible to evacuate the innocent civilians from the crowd. The Gunnery Sergeant told him that such an effort would yield great casualties, the Colonel looked to me for advice on what to do but at the time I could not think of an alternate option. The Colonel then ordered that another, more, how you Americans say, stern warning be given. That warning was ignored and explosives were lobbed into our tower, wounding Marines. That was when the Colonel gave the order to open fire." Singh finished.

"Could the Colonel have found some way to call CENTCOMMED to receive orders for engagement of further hostilities?" Krennick asked.

"Yes, he could have placed a call from my office to your CENTCOMMED." Singh answered.

"Thank you, General; nothing further." Krennick added as she proceeded to return to her desk. Harm got to his feet and adjusted the buttons on his coat.

"General, were the Marines sustaining casualties on the wall and in the tower?" Harm asked as he walked toward the witness stand.

"Yes, sir, the casualties were severe for what was supposed to be a peacekeeping mission." Singh replied.

"If the Colonel had wished to communicate with CENTCOMMED, would he have had to pull his Marines off the wall and tower to ensure that they cease to suffer casualties?" Harm inquired.

"That would have been necessary if he wished to prevent further casualties, yes." Singh answered.

"General what would the likely outcome have been had the Marines withdrawn within the UNDOF zone?" Harm asked.

"Objection, assumes facts not in evidence." Krennick pounced out of her chair.

"The Commander opened the door by suggesting that Colonel Grant could have followed an alternate course of action. I'm merely exploring what would have happened had the Colonel done so." Harm explained.

"Objection overruled, answer the question, General Singh." Colonel Koudakis instructed.

"More then likely, the protesters would have overrun the compound, they outnumbered us greatly and our nearest reinforcements were ten miles to the south, even if they had arrived on time, there's no guarantee that we would have been able to maintain superiority of numbers or munitions." General Singh answered.

"What likely would have happened then?" Harm asked.

"In the event that the compound would have been overrun, that would have indicated Syrian aggression in the Golan which under Israeli law would have been an act of war and would have meant direct war between Syria and Israel. The exact thing that the UNDOF presence is there to prevent." General Singh answered.

"In your professional military opinion, General, did Colonel Grant's actions save lives?" Harm pushed his last question.

"Occasionally, Commander Rabb, it is possible to save many scores of people through one act of aggression which ends other lives. Yes, Colonel Grant saved lives that day, not just of his Marines and my men but of Syrians and Israelis as well." General Singh concluded.

"Thank you, General, nothing further." Harm nodded at the Indian officer.

"Redirect, Commander Krennick?" Judge Koudakis interrupted.

"No, sir." Krennick answered.

"Then this court is in recess until 0900 tomorrow." Koudakis banged his gavel and rubbed his eyes. "Dismissed."

1427 LOCAL

CAFÉ DORMIANI

NAPLES, ITALY

Harm and Jim were sitting at the table waiting for the girls to arrive. Harm was fiddling with his fork and the wine glass in front of him. "I think today went well." Harm started.

"If this was a boxing match, I'd say that you've got Commander Krennick on the ropes. You beat her on the bail hearing, you beat her on the opening and you got her on both witnesses. I think General Singh would have served as a better witness for the defence then he served for the prosecution." Jim commented.

"Commander Rabb, Colonel Grant." The eerily familiar voice of Commander Alison Krennick greeted them.

"Commander Krennick, I trust there's a reason for this little ex parte communication." Harm mused, refusing to look up at Krennick.

"I want to offer a deal, Commander." Krennick stated plainly.

"Of course you do, Commander, you're losing." Jim mused as he played with the napkin in his lap.

"Just trying to spare you some unneeded grief tomorrow when the CENTCOMMED Commanding General takes the stand, Colonel." Krennick shot at Jim venomously.

"I'm well acquainted with the CENTCOMMED Commanding General, Commander, he and I go way back. Of course, since you've done your homework, Commander, I trust that you already know that and since the last interview he's granted today is to Mac, I'm sure what I just told you shouldn't worry you at all." Jim carried a sly smile as he averted his eyes from Krennick.

"Uh, of course, I know all about it." Krennick stammered. "So, what do you say, Commander? No brig time, the Colonel retires from the Marine Corps and gets to retain his benefits."

"That's a generous offer, Commander; I see no reason to accept it. Good day to you." Harm dismissed her with a flippant wave.

"On a personal aside, Commander……" Krennick started but Jim cut her off.

"On a personal aside, Commander, as the ranking officer here, the two of you are opposing council in a trial where the freedom of a Marine is on the line and as _that _Marine, I expect you to behave as an officer rather then as a sex crazed teenager! If you cannot keep your behaviour within professional bounds until at least the end of the trial, I will report it to Admiral Chegwidden. Is that clear?" The veins in Jim's neck were roughly the thickness of a garden hose.

"You may not be the ranking officer when I'm through with you, Colonel." Krennick challenged.

"At attention, Commander!" Jim moved into his best DI voice. "Being as I am still the ranking officer, I'm going to pretend that I didn't hear that. If you would like to repeat it for the record, Commander, then speak up so the world can hear you." Krennick was silent. "Commander, this may be a restaurant, but we are al fresco and being as we're outside, I expect a salute! As an officer, I believe I've earned it." Jim pointed to the Eagles on his shoulders. Krennick squared up and fired off a salute. "Dismissed, Commander." Jim said with an evident disdain.

"I've never seen anyone handle her like that." Harm commented.

"Back on the ranch in Tennessee, we had this young bronc named 'Colt'. That horse had to be the most ornery animal I had ever come across. Well, every time Colt would get uppity, I'd dig the spurs into his backside and he try to throw me. Well, Colt would throw me every once in a while but eventually there came a time when I was about fourteen that I dug the spurs into old Colt so hard that the horse knew there was no more fighting me. I learned that being a Marine officer can be a lot like being a bronc rider, you've just got to no when and on what animals to dig the spurs in." Jim chuckled at how homespun he sounded.

"Alright, moving past the latest episode of tales from the ranch, you want to tell me how you know the Commanding General of CENTCOMMED?" Harm asked, raising a curious eyebrow.

"Just let me take care of that on cross-examination tomorrow." Jim and Harm clinked glasses and reviewed the rest of their strategy for the case.

0902 LOCAL

NLSO SIGONELLA

NAPLES, ITALY

"Prosecution may call its next witness." Judge Koudakis looked up at the prosecution table and severely hoped for sake of the Sigonella PAO that today wasn't such a landslide victory for the defence otherwise their would be liberal media pundits screaming 'cover up'.

"Prosecution call General Richard Sorenson to the stand." Krennick rose from her seat. General Sorenson came in through the back door as all the witnesses did, he walked up to the witness stand and the Master at Arms administered the oath which the General recited verbatim before taking a seat. "Would you state your name, rank and current billet station for the record, sir?"

"General Richard Sorenson, United States Air Force, Commanding General of United States Forces Central Command Mediterranean." The General rhymed off.

"General, why was Colonel Grant selected for command of the 22nd MEU more then halfway through deployment?" Krennick asked.

"Intelligence indicated that there would be an increase in hostilities in the Eastern Mediterranean. Colonel Grant was a decorated Marine field commander with extensive experience in the specific area of the world that we were concerned with." General Sorenson answered.

"What exactly were the Colonel's orders on the morning of March 6th, General?" Commander Krennick asked.

"The orders that I issued for Colonel Grant was that he was to lend aid to UNDOF forces and to provide logistical support. He did not have orders to engage or antagonize the protesters!" General Sorenson's voice grew in intensity.

"In your opinion, General, is that what the Colonel did on the morning of March 6th?" Krennick pressed.

"Without question." General Sorenson assured.

"Nothing further, your honour." Krennick returned to her seat. Judge Koudakis looked up at the defence table waiting for someone to stand up and he was very surprised when the defendant got to his feet.

"General, you and I have met before, correct?" Jim asked as he played with the tail of his coat.

"Objection, your honour I must protest on the grounds of relevance and on the grounds that prosecution has no knowledge of the events in question." Krennick winced as she admitted the latter fact.

"Your honour, the facts I am about to bring to light are a matter of public record and as to relevance, I believe that I have the right to impeach evidence I view as prejudicial, your honour." Jim explained, turning to smile at Krennick sarcastically.

"Objection is overruled, proceed Colonel." Judge Koudakis ruled.

"Yes, Colonel Grant you and I have met previously." General Sorenson answered.

"What were the circumstances surrounding our meeting, General?" Jim pressed.

"During the 1982 crisis in Lebanon, my plane was shot down over a terrorist controlled sector of Beirut. You led a Marine Recon team that was sent in to get me out alive." General Sorenson answered.

"As I recall, you and I didn't get along on that mission, why was that General?" Jim began to pace the floor.

"Because you were insubordinate and disrespectful to someone who was two pay rates above you." General Sorenson answered through gritted teeth.

"Just how was I insubordinate, General?" Jim pressed.

"You hauled me up on to your shoulders after you judged that my lack of balance slow pace caused the team to miss its rendezvous with the chopper and as a result we were forced to hike forty miles through the desert to a safe LZ. During which time, Colonel you refused to drop me or acknowledge any of my orders." General Sorenson was showing real signs of aggravation.

"Why wasn't I court-martialled for my behaviour, General?" Jim asked.

"A Board of Inquiry ruled that the injuries that I had sustained from my ejection inhibited my ability to walk due to a spinal injury that I had suffered, the board ruled that you saved my life through your insubordination and as a result you were given a bronze star, Colonel." The General was now really pissed off.

"You've never forgotten that, have you, General and that's why you're testifying here today isn't it, General. You think I'm a bad officer and since you missed your chance to end my career twenty years ago, you saw your chance now, so you're taking it." Jim shot at the General.

"Objection!" Sturgis leapt from his seat.

"Sustained." Koudakis answered quickly. "Sit down, Colonel."

"Your idea was to attack a four star Air Force General?" Harm was shocked.

"My idea was to rattle his cage enough that Mac could bring home the ball on this one." Jim answered. Mac got up from the chair.

"General Sorenson, did you anticipate a clash between the Marines and the protesters on March 6th?" Mac asked.

"No, Colonel, even knowing Colonel Grant as I do, that was not anticipated." The General relinquished.

"So, if no clash had been anticipated, then how could Colonel Grant have violated orders pertaining to a clash with the protesters?" Mac inquired.

"I expected the Colonel to stick to his original orders of only lending aid and providing logistical support to the UN forces. I expected General Singh to handle any situation involving an armed altercation." General Sorenson answered.

"General Singh wasn't the one taking casualties, sir. Are you saying that you were willing to put Marine lives in the hands of a commander that wasn't their rightful unit commander or American?" Mac asked in a most surprised tone.

"My intent was not to sacrifice command sovereignty over our troops, Colonel; it was merely to ensure that peace prevailed." Sorenson contended.

"When Marines were attacked on that wall on March 6th, just how was that peace prevailing, General?" Mac pushed.

"If Colonel Grant's Marines hadn't proved to be an antagonistic force, they might not have been attacked." Sorenson argued.

"And just how were the Marines being an antagonistic force, General?" Mac brought down her final question. Sorenson had no answer. "Everything that they did up until being fired upon was exactly as was outlined in their orders was it not, General?" Sorenson had to nod. "Nothing further, your honour."

"You may step down, General." Koudakis instructed.

"At this time, the defence rests, your honour." Krennick announced.

"Very well, Commander Rabb, I trust that the defence is ready to proceed with its case." Koudakis asked.

"Yes, sir. Defence calls PFC Slava Ljubcic to the stand." Harm announced a wounded Marine Private came limping down the centre aisle. The Master at Arms administered the oath and Mac got to her feet to question the Marine.

"Would you state your name, rank and current billet for the record, Private?" Mac asked.

"Private First Class Slava Ljubcic, United States Marine Corps, currently serving with the 22nd Marine Expeditionary Unit onboard the USS Dwight D. Eisenhower, ma'am." The Private responded to Mac's question.

"Private would explain what caused your wound to the court?" Mac asked.

"Yes ma'am, when we were called into the UNDOF zone, the Colonel set up our team along the wall, almost like the way cops block off a street for a parade back home Chicago. The protesters became annoyed with us, ma'am, they began lobbing explosives on to the wall. My leg was a little too close to an exploding grenade, it tore the muscles and ligaments something fierce." Private Ljubcic answered.

"But it was the protesters who engaged you?" Mac affirmed.

"Oh, yes, ma'am." Private Ljubcic answered enthusiastically.

"Nothing further." Mac returned to the defence desk and Sturgis got up from behind the prosecution table.

"Private, you said that the Colonel had you set up like a parade patrol from Chicago, just how was that set up, Private?" Sturgis asked.

"Well, sir, the Colonel ordered us into a prone position hunched over our weapons to minimize the targets that our bodies presented and allow us the use of our weapon." Ljubcic answered.

"Isn't the prone position a defensive combat manoeuvre, Private?" Sturgis asked.

"It can be, sir." Ljubcic sounded hesitant.

"You must have some edgy cops back in Chicago." Sturgis mused.

"Objection, prosecution is editorializing." Mac proclaimed.

"Sustained, move on, Commander." Judge Koudakis answered.

"Private is it possible that seeing Marines in a defensive combat pose, antagonized the protesters?" Sturgis asked.

"Anything's possible, Commander." Ljubcic answered.

"Thank you, Private, nothing further." Sturgis returned to the prosecution table and PFC Ljubcic got down from the stand.

"Rabb five, Turner one." Jim remarked to Harm who brushed off the comment.

"Call your next witness, Colonel MacKenzie." Judge Koudakis ordered.

"Defence calls Sergeant Anthony Ben-Ali." Mac stated. Sergeant Ben-Ali proceeded just as the other witnesses had before him. "State your name, rank and current billet for the record."

"Sergeant Anthony Ben-Ali, United States Marine Corps, currently serving with the 22nd Marine Expeditionary Unit onboard the USS Dwight D. Eisenhower, ma'am." Sergeant Ben-Ali was smiling as he nodded at Mac.

"Sergeant, what role did you play with the Marines on the morning of March 6th?" Mac questioned as she approached the witness stand.

"Ma'am, the Colonel used my ability to communicate in Arabic to warn the protesters to disperse and to desist hostilities." Sergeant Ben-Ali's tone smelled of certainty.

"How many warnings were issued, Sergeant?" Mac asked.

"Four, ma'am." Ben-Ali nodded quickly.

"Are you aware that's two more then the Rules of Engagement require, Sergeant?" Mac inquired.

"I wasn't aware until Captain Rhodes told me once we had arrived back at Big Ike, that is, the Eisenhower, ma'am." Ben-Ali answered.

"Why were the last two warnings issued, Sergeant?" Mac asked.

"Because the Colonel needed an alternative to the closed option of evacuating innocent civilians, ma'am." Ben-Ali answered.

"Thank you, Sergeant, nothing further." Mac returned to the prosecution desk. Sturgis sat behind the prosecution desk for a few seconds before getting up to question the Sergeant.

"Sergeant, were you aware that Colonel Grant served in Lebanon with the 19th MEU during the 1982 crisis in the region?" Sturgis asked.

"Objection, relevance?" Mac questioned.

"Goes to establishing defendant state of mind, your honour." Sturgis answered quickly.

"It would be prudent for you to do so quickly, Commander. The objection is overruled." Koudakis ruled.

"Yes, sir, Colonel Grant was the real deal." The Sergeant was still smiling.

"Are you aware that he also served with distinction in the Gulf War?" Sturgis pressed.

"Yes, sir." Ben-Ali furrowed his brow, he wasn't aware why he was being questioned on the service record of his CO.

"Is it common practice for Marines in country to use pejorative terms with each other in order to dehumanize an enemy that they're fighting?" Sturgis asked.

"It's been known to happen, sir but it's not a sanctioned practice." Ben-Ali answered.

"With two conflicts against Arabic persons, is it fair to presume that Colonel Grant had been party to even if he hadn't participated in this kind of behaviour?" Sturgis asked.

"I suppose so, sir." The young Sergeant replied.

"So, his decision to fire into the crowd could have been influenced by this practice and hence been premature?" Sturgis pressed.

"I highly doubt it, sir." The Sergeant was growing annoyed.

"Thank you, Sergeant, nothing further." Sturgis returned to his seat.

"Redirect, your honour?" Harm asked as he got up from behind the defence table. Colonel Koudakis nodded and Harm proceeded. "Sergeant Ben-Ali, are you a person of Arabic descent?"

"My Father's side is Egyptian, sir, my mother's is Italian." The Sergeant nodded.

"Are you a practicing Muslim?" Harm inquired.

"Yes, sir. I'm an observant Sunni Muslim." The Sergeant answered.

"Has Colonel Grant ever shown prejudice toward you?" Harm approached the witness.

"Exactly the opposite, sir. The Colonel and I prayed together on several occasions and we'd even had a few deep theological discussions to find commonalities between our faiths." The Sergeant explained. "The Colonel always did his best to make me feel that being Muslim didn't make me any less of a Marine."

"Yet, he didn't know that you spoke Arabic?" Harm questioned.

"How many kids from the Bronx do you know that can speak fluent Arabic, sir?" The Sergeant retorted.

"Good point, Sergeant. Nothing further, your honour." Harm smiled as he went back to the defence table.

"This seems like a good point to adjourn for the day. Court is in recess, we will reconvene at 0900 tomorrow." Koudakis banged his gavel. "Dismissed."

1654 LOCAL

BASE HOUSING

NAPLES, ITALY

"I just listened to another news report describe what I did as a Middle Eastern My Lai." Jim pinched the bridge of his nose.

"It's not that bad." Harm passed Jim a beer.

"Oh really? I just got off the phone with FOX News, they want to do a sitcom starring me, Oliver North and Ann Coulter. Sort of like a conservative version of 'Two Guys, a Girl and a Pizza Place' I suppose." Jim chuckled as he popped the cap off his beer.

"I thought you were apolitical." Harm joked.

"I am, they see a Marine green uniform and assume there's a red elephant bumper sticker attached." Jim toyed. "Sturgis was good today."

"Yeah, yeah he was." Harm nodded as he pursed his lips and sipped his beer.

"Damn sight better then Krennick had been yesterday." Jim added.

"Not good enough to convict you." Harm moved to reassure his friend.

"Good enough to make the trial interesting though." Jim retorted.

"Yeah, well, Krennick's idea was that if she appealed to the Marine sense of order and discipline, once Mac shot that strategy to hell, she had Sturgis do what he does best. Go over the events with a fine toothcomb to pick apart anything even slightly criminal and have him push at it." Harm explained.

"I never went up against Sturgis when he was that close to the top of his game." Jim raised the beer again. "We putting me on the stand tomorrow?"

"Depends on how Captain Rhodes' and the Gunny's testimony goes. It might be worth it to put you on the stand just to watch you ridicule and screw with Krennick." Harm joked.

"You just don't want me to have to testify to anything under oath that you hadn't anticipated and we don't have time to go through everything I've done over twenty-seven years in the Corps. It's probably wiser to keep me off the stand unless we land in too much shit to wade out of." Jim advised.

"Agreed." Harm nodded.

0903 LOCAL

NLSO SIGONELLA

NAPLES, ITALY

"This court-martial is now in session." The Master at Arms called out and everyone in the courtroom got to their feet.

"Be seated." Judge Koudakis motioned for everyone to sit. "Colonel MacKenzie, is the defence ready to proceed with its case?"

"We are, your honour." Mac rose to her feet. "The defence calls Gunnery Sergeant Galindez." The doors at the back of the court opened and Gunny came strolling in. He was administered the oath before taking a seat on the witness stand. "Would you state your name, rank and current billet for the record?"

"Gunnery Sergeant Victor Galindez, United States Marine Corps, senior NCO for the 22nd Marine Expeditionary Unit." Gunny repeated almost mechanically.

"Gunny, what kind of CO was Colonel Grant after being assigned to the 22nd?" Mac asked as she began to walk the floor.

"The Colonel was a good officer, ma'am. From the second he came onboard, he set to making sure that the unit was battle ready in case we ever ended up in the soup." Gunny answered with his usual stoicism.

"What did that Colonel do to assure that his unit was ready, Gunny?" Mac asked.

"We ran the carrier ma'am. Every morning we started in the hallways outside Marine quarters and ran until we got to the bridge, then we'd turn around and run back." The Gunny answered. "We ran up and down the stairs and used the knee-knockers like hurdles, ma'am and the Colonel led us the whole way. We'd hit the weight room hard in the afternoon and maybe even get in some hand to hand combat practice."

"Sounds like the Colonel was a real taskmaster, Gunnery Sergeant." Mac commented.

"Some Marines think that the limited space and area of mobility on a carrier is an excuse to get lazy between combat manoeuvre drills, ma'am. Colonel Grant made it painfully obvious to those Marines, that this was not to be the case in his unit." The Gunny answered.

"How did the Marines of the 22nd MEU respond to Colonel Grant's more enthusiastic approach to running the unit?" Mac asked.

"It took a while for the Marines to get used to the Colonel's style but once they did, we all kind of felt like the Colonel's little brothers ma'am. He knew which of his men to push and how hard he needed to push them, in fact he even had a saying for it, ma'am." Gunny was getting ahead of himself.

"And what was that, Gunnery Sergeant?" Mac asked, slightly amused.

"The Colonel used to say, if you don't know how and when to help, it's better to be harmless." Gunny answered.

"Gunnery Sergeant, on the morning of March 6th, what were you tasked with doing?" Mac intertwined her fingers.

"I was the Colonel's senior NCO advisor and I was also the leader of Green squad which was the Marine force in the forward observation tower that day." Gunny answered.

"Gunnery Sergeant, were you provided with a copy of the Rules of Engagement for this exercise as well as a written copy of the CENTCOMMED order?" Mac pushed her questions now.

"Yes, ma'am it was SOP under the Colonel's command that Captain Rhodes and myself be provide with any outlines for any operation such as the one that we were involved in that day." Gunny answered.

"Gunnery Sergeant, who fired the first shot that day?" Mac asked.

"The Syrian protesters ma'am, they also threw the first explosives." Gunny responded.

"Objection, your honour, the witnesses comments are prejudicial." Krennick spouted.

"However accurate, Commander. Your objection is overruled." Judge Koudakis answered.

"Gunnery Sergeant, in your opinion did the Colonel follow the Rules of Engagement?" Mac asked.

"Yes, ma'am." Gunny nodded.

"Did he contradict anything in the CENTCOMMED order?" Mac added quickly.

"No ma'am, he went by the book." Gunny answered.

"Nothing further, your honour." Mac returned to her seat.

"Gunnery Sergeant, I just have a few quick questions." Sturgis clicked his pen. "Gunnery Sergeant, were your present when Colonel Grant issued the order to Captain Rhodes to have the Marines open fire?"

"Yes, sir, I was." Gunny affirmed

"What was the order that Colonel Grant issued, Gunny?" Sturgis walked over toward the member's box.

"Objection, asked and answered." Harm challenged.

"I'll rephrase. Gunnery Sergeant, do you remember how the Colonel phrased his order?" Sturgis turned to face the members.

"He shouted 'Open Fire!' into the radio, sir." Gunny answered.

"Did Captain Rhodes' men proceed to open fire immediately after that, Gunnery Sergeant?" Sturgis inquired.

"No, sir, the Captain called in for confirmation of the order." Gunny answered.

"What did the Colonel do then, Gunny?" Sturgis pressed.

"He re-issued the order, sir." Gunny's stoicism was coming through again.

"Using the same words, Gunny?" Sturgis followed up.

"No, sir." Gunny was becoming short-spoken; he was determined not to crack the way Ljubcic had.

"Gunnery Sergeant are you aware that the communications centre aboard the Eisenhower makes a tape of all radio communications?" Sturgis asked.

"Yes, sir, this wasn't the first time that I had served with an MEU." Gunny began to rub his hands together.

"Gunnery Sergeant, do you remember the words the Colonel used when he reissued his order to Captain Rhodes?" Sturgis pushed.

"No, sir, I don't." Gunny responded.

"I have a transcript of the tape here, marked as People's exhibit four. Could you read the highlighted portion of the page?" Sturgis handed the papers to Gunny.

"Captain Rhodes: Come again, sir? Colonel Grant: Jesus Christ, Rhodes, are you fucking thick? Shoot the little bastards!" Gunny read the section aloud.

"Is this standard procedure for issuing an order to a subordinate officer, Gunny?" Sturgis pressed.

"When you've had two Marines immolated by Molotov cocktails and others wounded by gunfire and hand grenades; it's about as close to standard procedure as you can get, sir." Gunny answered and Sturgis resigned himself.

"Nothing further, your honour." Sturgis returned to his seat and Gunny stepped down.

"Call your next witness, Colonel." Judge Koudakis ordered.

"Defence calls Captain Eli Rhodes, sir." Mac announced and the Marine Captain came walking in from the back. He, like the other witnesses before him, was sworn in and took the stand. "State your name, rank and current billet station for the record, Captain."

"Captain Eli Rhodes, United States Marine Corps, executive officer of the 22nd Marine Expeditionary Unit." The Captain answered.

"Captain, what was your relationship with Colonel Grant like?" Mac asked as she stepped out from behind the desk.

"Rocky at first, ma'am." Captain Rhodes nodded.

"Why was that, Captain?" Mac moved over toward the defence table.

"The Colonel has a way of doing things that the Academy discouraged us from practicing when we were undergoing command training. He's old Marine Corps, ma'am. He still believes that you can break down a boy and build Marine." Captain Rhodes answered.

"Did you voice your opposition to the Colonel's methods, Captain?" Mac's heels sounded against the tile floor.

"No, ma'am." Captain Rhodes answered.

"Why is that, Captain?" Mac turned to face her witness.

"Because they worked, ma'am. The harder the Colonel pushed us, the harder the Marines had to work to keep up. The harder the Marines had to work, the more they relied on each other. I'll be honest with you, ma'am, once deployment starts, the lack of consistent challenges put strain on the Marines. By keeping us occupied and challenging us, the Colonel made our unit, the best in the Med." Captain Rhodes seemed more cerebral then the other witnesses.

"Captain Rhodes, what did Colonel Grant task you with doing on the morning of March 6th?" Mac cracked the knuckles on her right hand.

"I was in command of the Red and Blue squads along the wall, ma'am." Captain Rhodes answered.

"Did you ask for permission to open fire once before Colonel Grant actually issued the order?" Mac pressed.

"Yes, ma'am." Rhodes was also determined to prevent himself from breaking down the way that Private Ljubcic had.

"Why did you seek permission to open fire, Captain?" Mac questioned.

"My Marines were dying, ma'am, I considered it my duty to provide them with the means to defend themselves." Captain Rhodes answered.

"Why didn't Colonel Grant give you permission when you asked for it, Captain?" Mac pushed.

"At the time, ma'am, I wasn't sure. After I looked at it, it was because, had I ordered my men to fire, I would have been in violation of the rules of engagement." Captain Rhodes replied.

"So, Colonel Grant saved you from facing charges yourself?" Mac followed up.

"Yes, ma'am." Rhodes nodded.

"What happened after Colonel Grant did issue the order to open fire, Captain?" Mac inquired.

"My Marines opened fire on the crowd. We spared anyone who surrendered or retreated. After a few minutes, the Colonel came running down from the tower on to the wall, yelling for my men to cease firing. In all the commotion, the Colonel's orders weren't heard by my men. The Colonel proceeded to shout at the top of his lungs and he even pulled one of the Marines off their rifle to illustrate his point, ma'am." Captain Rhodes answered.

"Did anything happen after that, Captain?" Mac tested the water.

"Ma'am, I don't think I'll ever forget that. I'd never been in a skirmish of any kind. When I saw the results of the actions of my Marines as well as the casualties we'd suffered, it was more then I thought I could handle, ma'am. I almost lost my lunch." Captain Rhodes was noticeably shaken just remembering the incident.

"How did you get through it, Captain?" Mac changed her tone to one of sympathy.

"That would be the Colonel's doing, ma'am. He let me know that it never gets easier but that fear that we feel in a skirmish is what keeps us alive and that sickness we feel when we see the results of our actions, that prevents us from acting too quickly or too harshly because we don't like seeing the results of crossing that final line. Colonel Grant is the reason that I didn't resign my commission when we got back to the Eisenhower, he's the reason I know I can still make it as a Marine." Rhodes was very solemn in his words.

"Nothing further, your honour." Mac returned to the defence desk. When Krennick rose from behind the prosecution table, Harm and the entire defence side in general had to smile. Sturgis had become a threat during this trial but Krennick certainly wasn't.

"Captain Rhodes, I have just one question, do you believe that Colonel ordered the Marines to use excessive force?" Krennick didn't move from behind the prosecution table.

"No, ma'am. The UN forces in the UNDOF zone are unarmed observers; we were the only thing standing between a violent angry mob and IDF forces on the other side of the UN zone." Captain Rhodes answered.

"Nothing further, your honour." Krennick sat back down.

"This court is in recess, we'll hear closing arguments after lunch at 1400 today." Judge Koudakis banged his gavel.

1402 LOCAL

NLSO SIGONELLA

NAPLES, ITALY

"We will now proceed with closing arguments. Is the prosecution ready to proceed, Commander Turner?" Koudakis looked to the officer who would obviously be delivering the closing if his performance during the trial was anything to go by.

"Yes, your honour." Sturgis got out from behind the desk. "On March 6th, orders came in from CENTCOMMED, that the Marines of the 22nd MEU were to assist UN forced in the UNDOF zone in the Golan Heights. That region is both one of the most hostile and unstable regions on the planet but Colonel Grant's Marines answered the call. When the Colonel's men arrived in the UNDOF zone, he had them establish a formation that is universally recognizable as a battle formation thereby antagonizing the Syrian mob below. Colonel Grant had been in two prior engagements in the region where he was likely party to ethnic and racial slurs against the inhabitants. If you combine this with the fact that engaging the protesters was not a part of Colonel Grant's orders then the conclusion is inevitable. On March 6th, the Colonel committed the crimes with which he is charged and for that reason, you must find him guilty." Sturgis stopped pacing in front of the members box and returned to his seat.

"Lance Corporal Peter Simons, Corporal Darius McCarthy, PFC Andre Welsh, PFC Andrew Bauer and Corporal Lance Koshowski. That's the list of Marines who died in the UN zone that day. When you got into that room to deliberate, ask yourself, if you're put in command of a unit that's thrown into a hostile area without orders on how to proceed if engaged, what would you do? Would you proceed in accordance with the rules of engagement as Colonel Grant did? Would you act as Captain Rhodes stated that he would have, in violation of the rules of engagement? Or, would you act as General Sorenson wanted the Marines to and not return fire, thus adding more names to the list I just read to you? Colonel Grant made a choice once his Marines were fired upon. He chose to act as any good commander would; he followed the rules of engagement until those rules told him to engage. He gave them ample opportunity to retreat and his Marines spared those who retreated or surrendered. It's a tragedy that anyone had to die that day, but what we cannot forget is that no one would have had to die if the crowd hadn't engaged the Marines initially. Colonel Grant did, exactly what the United States Marine Corps trained him to do and if we allow him to be punished for doing as he was trained to, then we limit the possible successes of out men and women in the field to the point where it may turn out that we accomplish what no enemy can, we may cripple the United States Military." With that, Harm returned to his seat. Judge Koudakis issued his instructions to the jury and he sent them off to deliberate.

"And now, we wait." Mac theorized as people flooded out of the courtroom.

1904 LOCAL

NLSO SIGONELLA

NAPLES, ITALY

"Less, then five hours, I hope that's a good sign." Jim mused as they headed back into the courtroom.

"In my experience, it's not usually a bad sign." Harm added as they all took their seats at the defence table with Angie in the front row behind them.

"Have the members arrived at a verdict, General?" Judge Koudakis looked down from his perch on the bench.

"We have your honour." The Marine Major General who was the senior member answered.

"What say you?" Judge Koudakis asked.

"In the case of The People .v. Colonel James Grant on the charge of violating Article 89, Disrespect Toward a Superior Commissioned Officer; this court marital finds you not guilty. On the charge of violating Article 90, Wilful Disobedience of a Superior Commissioned Officer; this court martial finds you not guilty. On the charge of violating Article 92, Failure to obey and order or regulation; this court martial finds you not guilty. On the charge of violating Article 116, Breach of Peace; this court martial finds you not guilty. On the charge of violating Article 119 subsection B1, manslaughter by culpable negligence; this court martial finds you not guilty. Finally, on Article 133, Conduct Unbecoming an Officer and Gentleman, this court martial finds you not guilty." The Senior Member folded the piece of paper and handed it to the Master at Arms.

"The Members are dismissed with the thanks of the court. On a personal aside, I would like to state two things. First, that I found the ambiguity and in most cases absence of orders from CENTCOM in this case to be appalling. Second, I'm recommending to the convening authority an intensive performance review of Commander Alison Krennick, the case you argued in my court was disgraceful, counsellor. The only reason, I can see that Commander Rabb and Colonel MacKenzie didn't motion for me to dismiss this case was that Commander Turner put up an actual challenge. Dismissed." The judge was about to continue when they heard shrieking from the gallery. "What was that?"

"I think she's going into labour!" Mac replied as she hopped into the gallery. She was followed quickly by Harm, Jim, Sturgis and Gunny.

"Did her water break?" Harm asked as they all crouched down around Angie.

"You were standing in a puddle, Harm, what do you think?" Mac asked as she looked up at her very stunned Naval Commander.

"Has anyone hear ever delivered a baby?" Jim looked around as both Gunny and Sturgis raised their hands. "It wasn't in a squad car in Albuquerque, was it, Gunny?"

"No, sir, a taxi cab in Santa Fe, sir." Gunny answered.

"How about you, Commander Turner?" Jim looked up at Sturgis.

"I helped my dad deliver a baby at a wedding he was officiating over." Sturgis informed his friend.

"Who was giving birth?" Harm asked.

"The bride." Sturgis replied.

"You had to ask." Jim shot sarcastically. "Would someone get her a pillow!" Captain Rhodes, who, along with the other Marines who had testified, dashed off to find a pillow and the articles that Gunny and Sturgis told him that they would need in order to deliver the baby.

The minutes turned into hours. "Why the hell hasn't an ambulance or Corpsmen shown up here yet!" Judge Koudakis shouted, being as he had now joined the birthing party.

"There's a major pile up in the northern part of the city, sir. American medical personnel are lending assistance to Italian emergency crews." Sergeant Ben-Ali informed his CO.

"Looks like we're going to have to deliver this baby here." Sturgis added. Angie screamed and all the men winced.

"You all are such wimps." Mac lectured them as she tried to help Jim coach Angie through it. They told her to breath and she screamed at them that she'd kill them if they told her that one more time. They all tried to keep her breathing steadily and coached her along.

"Are we at ten centimetres yet?" Jim asked looking at Sturgis.

"It's kind of hard to tell, do you have a ruler, judge?" Sturgis looked the Judge who was supporting Angie's head. The Judge went to go up to his desk when Mac stopped.

"For God's sake, Jim, your hand is about ten centimetres wide, use that." Mac smacked him on the shoulder.

"Are you sure that's the best way to do it?" Jim asked, his eyes pleading.

"Do you want Harm to do it?" Mac threatened. Jim resolved himself and extended his hand to see how far dilated Angie was.

"Oh yeah, we're at ten centimetres." Jim nodded as he made a futile attempt to wipe his hand off on one of the benches in the gallery.

"Don't you dare, bitch, Marine! You did this to me!" Angie growled at him.

"Yes, dear." Jim nodded his head out of fear.

"Alright Angie, next time you feel a contraction, I want you to push." Mac coached and sure enough the next contraction came and Angie howled in pain as she pushed. She crushed the index finger of poor Captain Rhodes.

"Why weren't you there?" Mac asked looking at Jim.

"When they make you a Colonel, they remove the bone from your head which forces you to explain orders." Jim retorted.

"Get over here!" Angie screamed and Jim did as he was told.

"Alright Angie, get ready to push again." Mac coached her friend and sure enough there was another round of screaming, pushing and pain. "Just a few more, Angie, you're doing great."

"Somebody give me a tranquilizer!" She shouted.

"The closest thing we have is a Tic-Tac, ma'am." PFC Ljubcic spoke up.

"Private, get out of the free fire zone!" Jim warned and he felt his girlfriend crushing his hand. "Was that another push?" He asked wincing in pain.

"No, that was for acting like a jackass." She sneered. She pushed again and crushed his hand to deal with the pain. "_That_ was another push."

"One more ought to do it, Angie." Sturgis stated. There was one more push followed by the sound of crying.

"Congratulations, ma'am, sir, it's a boy." Gunny wrapped the baby in his Class A coat and handed him to his mother.

"Born into Marine Greens." Angie smiled as she looked at her son swaddled in the Marine Green uniform of a Gunnery Sergeant.

"Have you guys picked out a name yet?" Mac asked.

"Samuel Houston Grant." Angie stated.

"There's got to be a story behind that." Sturgis questioned.

"Sam Houston, great soldier and the first governor of both of our home states; Texas and Tennessee." Angie explained. Harm was talking on his cell phone and he closed it before addressing everyone gathered on the floor of the courtroom.

"That was Alan Mattoni. The Admiral and everyone back at JAG heard about the verdict live over ZNN. The funny thing is, Harriet was so excited that…" Mac cut off her soon-to-be husband.

"Let me guess, she went into labour." Mac was smiling from ear to ear.

"On the spot, in the Admiral's office, in a freak March snowstorm in DC, no ambulances could get out to JAG Headquarters. The Admiral, Commander Imes and Commander Mattoni had to help Harriet give birth in the Admiral's office. Bud got trapped in the elevator and Tiner fainted on the spot when he saw Harriet's water break." Harm was in a full chuckle by the time he finished explaining the situation. "About ten minutes ago, Albert Jethro or AJ Roberts came into the world."

"Now if that don't beat all." Jim laughed as he rubbed the circulation back into his hand.

"You guys thought of who the Godparents are going to be yet?" Sturgis asked as he wiped the sweat off his brow.

"Well Harm and Mac are legally David's godparents so, we were thinking of someone different for Sam." Jim started.

"Since you've been so good looking after me when Jim hasn't been home, we decided that you would be one." Angie smiled at Sturgis. "And I gave the Colonel, here, the privilege of picking the other one."

"And since I couldn't find any regulation that said the second godparent couldn't also be a male, I decided on having Gunny as the second godparent." Jim smiled.

"Thank you, sir." Gunny nodded and shook Jim's hand. "You folks at JAG sure live exciting lives, I might have to request a billet."

"I think we can arrange that, Gunny." Harm gave the Marine a pat on the shoulder.


	36. And In The End, The Love You Make

It was the day before the bachelor party. Sturgis, Keeter and Jim were buzzing around JAG HQ like men with a purpose. It was rare to get a moment with one of them when they didn't have a phone next to their ear or on their way to meet with someone about the next day. There were people being flown in just for the bachelor party and the reception. Even Clayton Webb was skulking around in the dark corners and shadowy hallways of JAG HQ.

Harm had this sense of impending doom. Like he had somehow wronged his friends and now they were reaping their vengeance. He already had a short list of who was going to be at the bachelor party tonight. There was Bud, Sturgis, Keeter, Jim, the Admiral, Mattoni, Clayton Webb, Tiner and Frank who had flown in with Trish earlier in the week. Harm had the feeling that there were definitely going to be more people showing up for the bachelor party then were going to be at the damn wedding!

Eventually the day spent walking around on eggshells and his mere presence creating laughs from his friends was over. In the last few days, work had become sheer hell. Mac had been given the last few days off to clear up the finer points for the reception, something which Trish and Grams revelled in helping her with, so Harm was feeling a little extra lonely at work. It didn't help that at every lunch hour, every single one of his friends retreated into the Admiral's office to plot his demise.

Every single man in the office would toss Harm a look that said 'you are so dead' when they were talking with him. He was getting more than a little nervous at what evil thoughts had to be rolling around in his friends' minds. He knew how Keeter's mind worked and that was of surprisingly little comfort when it came to trying to figure out what was in store for him. At least he knew what he was going home to when he got in the elevator this week. Around his table in his apartment would sit his future wife, his mother, grandmother and stepfather and they would go into detail about things over which he had no intellectual grasp. But it was hilarious to watch Mac's take charge Marine Corps attitude at work with his family. Grandma Sarah even said she found it 'a most charming trait and very becoming of the young lady.'

It had been a little under a month since AJ Roberts and Samuel Houston Grant had been welcomed into this world, choosing to make their entrances within minutes of each other and both of them in AJ Chegwidden's office. Ever since then, Angie and Harriet had been walking around like they were happy rays of sunshine. Harm was convinced that the only things worse than having one incessantly perky new mother around the office was having two incessantly perky new mothers around the office. Normally, he wouldn't mind, but spending an entire week waiting for a shoe to drop tends to grate on one's nerves.

When Harm walked up to the door of his apartment that night, he heard two more masculine voices coming from inside than he'd heard the rest of the week. Harm opened the door to find two familiar figures standing over the table with the rest of his family. "I decided to give Mac her wedding present a little early, don't sue me, Rabb." Clayton Webb jibed as he indicated the man next to him.

"Commander, I hear you want to marry my niece." Matt O'Hara stated in a very protective tone.

"Yes, sir, I do. Mac's the love of my life and I'll do anything I can to make her happy." Harm went to extend his hand to his future in-law.

"Put that thing away, son. We're family!" Matt smiled widely as he pulled an unsuspecting Harm into a big bear hug.

"He's been doing that all day, he even hugged Webb." Mac stated from the table.

"And that was the guy who put me in prison." Matt quipped.

"Hey! I turned over enough evidence to get you early parole, didn't I?" Clayton protested, trying to look as if he'd been wounded by Matt's comment.

"Does this mean he's out for good?" Harm looked over at the Company man for an explanation.

"Unless he does something that gets him thrown back in prison, yeah. Which, sorry for you, Colonel, means that you won't be able to come to the bachelor party tomorrow night." Clayton had the widest maniacal grin on his face that Harm had ever seen.

"I'm starting to worry, this is the third time someone's said something like that. Are you guys aiming to wind up in the brig tomorrow night?" Mac asked and watched as Clay's grin got even wider. Everyone in the apartment could hear a flood of raucous voices in the hallway outside. A loud pounding came to the door and Harm opened it wide to see Keeter, Jim, Angie and the two Grant boys standing outside waiting for them.

"Angie wanted to commiserate with Mac over the wedding plans and Jim and I just want to hang out!" Keeter stated enthusiastically as he worked his way into the apartment, David Grant in tow. Jim was next into the apartment when his eyes locked on Matt O'Hara.

"Jesus, Matt!" Jim walked over to his mentor and gave him a big hug. "Since when do you only get three years for stealing the Declaration of Independence?"

"Since a CIA Agent needed a last minute wedding gift." Matt joked and pointed to Clayton Webb.

"So, what's next? We gonna steal the Constitution after the wedding?" Jim joked.

"Don't even joke about that, please." Webb added.

"Hey, I spent three years in jail because of you." Matt playfully slugged Jim in the shoulder.

"Me? What did I do?" Jim questioned with mock offence.

"Nothing, that was the problem, if you'd been with me, there's no way I would have been caught." Matt joked and he saw as Jim feigned understanding.

"Unca Matt!" David rushed over and latched himself around Matt.

"That can't be David, no way; you're too big to be the David Grant that I remember." Matt mussed the young man's hair. "How'd you get so big?"

"Dad says it's cause I eat my carrots and get lots of sleep. Do you want to meet Sam Houston, Unca Matt?" David asked innocently.

"Sam Houston?" Matt asked wide-eyed.

"My little brother Sam Houston Grant, dad says that makes me Davey Crockett." David was smiling widely as he took Matt by the hand and led him over to meet Angie and Sam. Angie was more than nervous about this meeting; she'd always figured that she's had a few years to prepare for it, what with Matt being in prison and all. She knew that Matt was Jim's best and oldest friend and that his opinion meant the world to Jim.

"Matt, this is my son Sam and my fiancée Captain Angela Harris, USMC." Jim made the introductions and took Sam from Angie's arms so that Matt could give her a hug.

"Jeez, Matt, you never used to hug people this much before you went to prison." Jim joked.

"You realize what's important when you go through an experience like that." Matt stated. "Now, let me see that newborn son of yours." Matt reached out and Jim handed him the newborn. It was a rather heart-warming sight to watch a grizzled combat veteran make baby sounds and rock a child in his arms.

"I wonder what he's going to be like with our kids." Harm whispered as he wrapped his arms around Mac.

"He'll probably try to turn them into Marines." Mac replied with a coy smile.

"No more than Frank will try to turn them into car salesmen." Harm replied lightly kissing Mac's neck.

"I heard that!" Frank protested with a look of mock offence.

"So, General what's all the ruckus downstairs that we've been hearing for the last few hours?" Matt beamed with prides when he used his protégé's rank.

"Your buddy here, has turned my living room into a BOQ for tomorrow night. We are currently housing five Naval aviators that are eating us out of house and home, General." Angie supplied with a somewhat annoyed look.

"You're engaged to my best friend, Captain. I'd say that calling me 'Matt' is probably okay. Have you got room for one more?" Matt questioned with a humorous smile.

"Please dad, can Unca Matt stay with us?" David pleaded with his father.

"That okay with you, Mac?" Jim called and Mac gave him a dismissive wave as she and Trish were once again engrossed in the last minute details of the reception.

"Hey, Jim, Angie said that you had five Naval aviators occupying your living room, but I only see Keeter, where are the other four?" Harm asked and watched as Jim walked over to the centre of Harm's living room and stomped heavily on the floor three times. Scurrying could be heard below and that was accompanied by the sound of a door slamming. A minute passed in silence and then Harm heard the elevator open outside in the hallway. That was followed by a loud knock at the door. Keeter raced over and threw the door open wide to welcome the four guests.

Harm watched as four Panthers from the TR poured into his apartment. "Now, this is a surprise, I thought you guys were back out at sea?" Harm smiled. Mitch Thomas, Trapper his RIO, Temptress and Archangel were in his apartment.

"We got the invitations to the reception so we came a runnin'! There was no way in hell that Captain Wellington was going to keep us from going to Hammer's wedding. Especially not after he saw the tape from your stateroom of your guys' first visit on the TR." Captain Thomas said wiggling a videotape in the air.

"That can't be right. There was no camera in that room. Wait, the camera was in one of pens you put on my desk wasn't it?" Harm asked with a sudden revelation.

"Not even close, we're not going to tell you where the camera was but let's just say that we now have the ultimate blackmail for tomorrow's party." Lieutenant Mark '_Archangel'_ Angel stated with a laugh. "Maybe we should make copies for the Major's new in-laws as well.

"No!" Harm protested reaching for the tape. Mitch threw it to Jim so it was out of Harm's grasp.

"Wait, their first trip out to the TR? Wasn't that while I pulled that stint as the JAG last year?" Jim questioned examining the tape. "Gee, Mr. Rabb, I hope you and the soon-to-be Missus didn't do anything I might have to court-martial you for. Maybe, I should examine this tape."

"No!" Harm lunged for the tape again but Jim tossed it to Lieutenant Jennifer _'Temptress'_ Kraft.

"Guess you didn't need my advice after all, Major. After seeing this tape, you seemed to have things firmly 'in hand'." _Temptress_ saw the blush rise in Mac's cheeks and the questioning looks on both Trish and Matt O'Hara's faces.

"Hey Frank, Matt, we're going to show the tape and some other entertainment for the first few stages of the bachelor party downstairs tomorrow night, you guys should join us for that, there won't be anything we can get arrested for happening quite yet." Jim stated as he watched Harm look very embarrassed.

"I think we can squeeze that into our schedule." Matt affirmed and Frank nodded.

"Lieutenant Kraft, dear. Why don't you join us girls for Mac's little send-off?" Trish invited her with a kind tone. "I'm sure that you don't want to spend all night with the boys."

"That sounds great, besides I already know what the guys have in store for Harm." _Temptress_ laughed and that anticipatory knot in Harm's throat tightened. Tomorrow night was going to be absolute torture and not just any torture, torture at the hands of his closest friends and comrades in arms.

0100 ZULU

THE NEXT NIGHT

NORTH OF UNION STATION

"We got everything ready?" Jim turned to Matt and the two of laughed and smiled maniacally.

"You Recon Marines sure have some weird traditions. I mean, do you have any idea the look I got from the girl behind the counter at the hardware store when I walked up to the counter with a wooden chair, a bandana, rope and this much duct tape?" Clayton Webb asked with a less than amused tone.

"You drew the short straw, Webb, deal with it." AJ Chegwidden huffed. Keeter was standing near the door and he counted off the last few seconds before they all barged through the door. The door was flung wide open and a bunch of loud voices and party streamers and confetti decorated the scene as all the guys came piling into the apartment. Noisemakers went off and then they guys went to work.

Harm was held in place by Sturgis and Keeter, while Jim and Matt O'Hara turned him into 'the duct tape mummy'. Harm was covered in multiple rolls of duct tape from his ankles to his neck and couldn't move in any way. As he went to protest, Bud slipped the bandana into his mouth effectively gagging him.

Harriet, Francesca, Jackie Mattoni, Trish, Grams, Angie, Carolyn, _Temptress_ and Mac were looking on in great amusement. They howled with laughter at Harm's panicked expression as his friends covered him in duct tape. They laughed even louder at the annoyed glare that Harm tossed his friends after his protestations were muted by the gag. The guys then proceeded to hoist Harm on to their shoulders and carry him like pallbearers out of the apartment; all the while shouting "Ouga Chaka! Ouga Chaka! Ouga, Ouga, Ouga Chaka!"

"I don't know what has me more worried. That they're in control tonight or that they're all top of the line military officers." Mac quipped and all the ladies laughed.

Downstairs, Admiral Boone and Captain Thomas were setting up the apartment for the night's entertainment. Admiral Boone had the projection screen set up for the movie and the slideshow portion of the evening. Both of these events were scheduled to embarrass the hell out of Harm. They also had the liquor set up in the corner and the Thermadors in the kitchen were filled with Cuban cigars.

They watched as the guys, still with Harm hoisted high on their shoulders, came charging into the apartment. "Alright, is the first round ready for consumption, Admiral?" Jim asked as they dumped Harm's form into the wooden chair. Clayton Webb proceeded to tie Harm to the chair before every one abandoned Harm and went into the kitchen where shot-glasses were lined up for them.

"Gentlemen, tonight we bid farewell to one of the greats." Keeter started as all the guys raised their glasses to him. "To Harmon Rabb, friend, pilot, lawyer and babehound to beat the band. Anchors Aweigh!"

"Anchors Aweigh!" The Navy men shouted.

"Semper Fi!" Jim and Matt shouted.

"Fuckin' Marines." Admiral Boone commented. Everyone turned toward Harm, whose muffled protests were getting louder and louder.

"What is it you want, Squid?" Matt asked as he pulled the bandana out of Harm's mouth.

"It's my bachelor party and I don't get to drink?" Harm asked.

"Of course you do! Mark! Bring it on out!" Jim shouted and watched as _Archangel_ appeared from the kitchen with a forty of tequila in his hands. "To mark the beginning of your official send-off, you will have to drink the whole bottle – worm included – by the time we leave the apartment!"

There was a round of cheers as Captain Thomas took the tequila bottle from _Archangel _and started to pour it down Harm's throat to cheers of "Chug! Chug! Chug!" Harm finished about a third of the bottle before it was lowered from his lips and placed on the floor under his chair. "Alright, now gentlemen, to the cigars." Sturgis stated as the group moved toward the kitchen

"Cuban cigars are illegal." Clayton Webb stated before being smacked upside the head.

"Congratulations, Lieutenant McIntyre, you're the first officer for SW duty." Admiral Chegwidden piped up.

"SW duty?" Alan Mattoni questioned.

"Smack Webb duty, every time we make a questionable decision tonight and Webb says something that makes him sound like Jiminy Cricket; the nearest person has an obligation to smack him." Admiral Boone explained and Mattoni nodded his head in agreement. The thick texture of cigar smoke blanketed the room for a few minutes before Jim and Keeter took over as Emcees for the night.

"Alright, we have a few treats for you tonight before we leave the apartment. First off, we have a slideshow that was composed of pictures submitted by Lieutenant Colonel Sarah MacKenzie soon-to-be Rabb and Petty Officer Tiner who has insisted that we add that he was acting under the orders of Admiral Chegwidden or myself when he took the pictures." Jim started and then Keeter took over.

"After that, we have a rather entertaining video, featuring the bride and groom to be, while they were still protesting to the rest of the world that they were only friends. Just for National Security purposes, the original print of this tape is locked in a vault in the Captain's stateroom aboard the TR and the girls have the other copy for tonight." Keeter supplied. "General Grant and I will provide the commentaries for both showcases."

The lights were cut and the projection screen showed a picture of Harm climbing out of the cockpit of an F-14. "This is the Harm that complete strangers know." The screen changed to a picture of Harm using Mac's bra on his head like Alien antennas. "This is the Harm that the rest of us know." The screen changed again to reveal Harm standing in court. "This is Harm at the top of his game." The next picture was one of Harm's mug-shot after getting arrested at Bud's bachelor party. "This is Harm when he's not at the top of the game." A picture came on the screen of Harm holding Baby AJ. "Harm can be affectionate." The next picture was one of Harm and Mac kissing quickly after winning the baseball championship. "He can be amorous." The next picture was one of Harm and Mac sprawled out on his desk at work with her hands on his chest and the top half of his uniform off. "He can be down right horny."

There was a round of laughs in the room and Harm was making mental notes of people to kill when he was untied. At the top of the list were Jim, Keeter and Tiner. Harm looked up at the screen he saw a picture of himself sitting at the bar at McMurphy's. "There are a lot of reasons for why so many of us became friends with Harm over the years." Jim shuffled through pictures of JAG, and F-14, Annapolis and an aircraft carrier. "But now that he's getting married, we all know why we'll be dropping by his place more often." The last picture was one of Mac in a bikini that she no doubt had submitted herself. There were more laughs in the room as the lights went up again.

"General, Commander, I think the two of you have earned commendations for that one." Admiral Boone joked as he wiped tears of laughter from his eyes.

"I whole-heartedly agree." Admiral Chegwidden affirmed. "Alright, now let's move on to the video that we've heard so much about." Harm was once again protesting through the bandana in his mouth and shaking his head fervently.

"I think Harm wants to say something." _Trapper_ stated as he pulled the bandana down.

"First off, if I ever get untied, Jim, you better take Keeter and Tiner and run for Tierra Del Fuego because that's the only way I won't kill all three of you." Harm went to say something further but _Archangel_ walked over and picked up the tequila bottle.

"Alright, that's enough out of you." _Archangel_ raised the bottle to Harm's lips and Harm shut his mouth. _Trapper_ than proceeded to pinch Harm's nose closed which forced Harm's lips open and the tequila war promptly poured into his mouth. After finishing off another third of the bottle. The bandana was promptly re-inserted into his mouth and everyone's attentions were turned back to the movie.

"Alright, before we start the movie, I want an assurance from Colonel O'Hara that he will not leap across the room and strangle his soon-to-be nephew-in-law. Can we do that, Colonel?" Keeter asks and Matt nodded somewhat hesitantly. "Alright, let's get to the film."

Cut to movie –

"_Hello, I'm Lieutenant Jeff McIntyre; Harm was my nose-gunner while he was stationed on board the TR. We were all clambering for a chance to get to narrate this story and I won the straw pull. You're lucky Harm, the Skipper almost made it an order that he got to narrate. In any case, the incident I'm doing the narration for didn't happen while Harm was stationed on the TR, it happened a few months earlier while he, Major MacKenzie and Lieutenant Roberts were investigating here._

_That night we slid a camera into the stateroom because the CAG, Temptress, Nighthawk, Archangel and I, had the feeling that something was going to happen between Harm and Mac, boy we sure weren't disappointed." _

-Archived footage starts-

"_Mac, I was just talking to the CAG out on Vulture's Row. He offered me a spot on the cruise for the next little while, said he'd work with my night-blindness only give me day patrols_." Harm was standing just inside the hatch of the stateroom.

"_For how long?"_ Mac was standing against the bunks.

_ "A few weeks at the most, listen Mac; I figured you should be the first to know that I…_" Harm started talking but Mac cut him off.

_"Why are you telling me this Harm? I mean who am I to you? Just another friend, why not tell Bud or the Admiral or Jim? Or what is it you figured I'd give you a 'uniquely female' send-off, is that it?"_ She walked toward him in a sort of mock seduction marked by the over-exaggerated swaying of her hips.

"_Is that what you figured Flyboy? That I'd be so overcome by your leaving and so turned on by the fact that we wouldn't share a command that I'd just give into you?" _She pushed her hips up against his mid-section like she was trying to prove her point. _"That I'd just throw you up against a bulkhead and plunge my tongue down your throat?"_

Trapper's voice overlapped the footage. "_Alright, my voice is going to take over because the audio is kind of unimportant. Just picture the two of them moaning. Anyway, here we see the two of them engaging in one very passionate kiss. It almost looks like there's going to be some angry sex happening soon. Mac's hands are running through his hair and……there, her hands are now grabbing his six! Alright, Harm, being ever the caveman, decided to turn and pin her up against the wall and we can see Harm's hands rove down Mac's back to her six."_

The people watching the tape were open-mouthed in shock at what they were seeing. _"Alright now, here's where the dialogue gets interesting again."_ Trapper's voice cut off and the archived dialogue kicked in.

"_Ha…Harm." _Mac moaned against his lips.

"_Sarah, beautiful Sarah."_ Harm moaned just as powerfully than his ministrations stopped. "_Mac, wait."_ Keeter paused the tape there.

"Can anybody here tell me where Harm went wrong?" Keeter asked the room and Clayton Webb practically bounded out of his chair with his hand in the air.

"Yes, Mr. Webb." Keeter pointed to him.

"He told her to stop." Webb announced properly. _Note to self: Add Webb's name to list of people to kill for tonight!_ Harm thought as he sat there hopeless, praying that Matt O'Hara had a serious aversion for going back to Leavenworth because Harm knew what was coming next.

_"So I'm back to Mac now? What happened to 'beautiful Sarah'? Or am I only beautiful Sarah when I'm pinned between your hard-on and a bulkhead?"_ The Mac on the video said and Harm winced at the memory. The group in the apartment watched as the Harm on the tape stood silent for a few seconds.

"That was not the time to go silent, Rabb." Alan Mattoni chuckled from his place on the couch.

_"Mac, you can't honestly think that."_ The Harm on the video said and everyone's attentions turned back on the screen.

_"I can't honestly think what? Use your head counsellor and I mean the one above your belt. You come down here to tell me that you're going to be on this ship for the next while, which means you won't be coming back to the States tomorrow and if Captain Thomas and his Travelling Aviation Show decide you should become a permanent part of their team, it means that you had every intention of starting something tonight that you couldn't follow through on, tomorrow or any time after."_ Looking back, Harm realized that that was probably the time to tell her that he loved her, but instead it went down as another missed chance.

_"What happened when I wanted more that morning in your apartment when I came over for the Russian translation, Mac? You seemed to be just fine with a quickie that morning and than you'd go back to your big civilian firm and I'd feel like someone who was used and tossed. Did you even realize that I felt like hell when I said those words before I left your apartment and you just sat there and did nothing."_ The Harm on the video protested and the Harm in the chair really hoped that Matt O'Hara wasn't about to kick the crap out of him. _"God Mac, I was going to say that I wanted you to be the first one to know that I was going to turn the offer down because I belong at JAG now, but if you honestly think that I'm some kind of chauvinistic prick who was just going to use you for tonight then I might as well stay here and clear my head before heading back."_

_"Harm, I didn't mean…I meant what I said at the time because I was angry and afraid at the time. When you were up in the air today, I just felt so much like I was going to lose you and there was nothing I could do to save you. I know that you used to fly and I know that the DFC on your chest isn't for an uncanny ability to upgrade to first class but when I'm not there to save you I feel helpless."_ Harm now realized how much she must have trusted him to open up to him like that about what she felt.

_"If that's true, than what was with the kiss?"_ The Harm on the video, the Harm that he was sixteen months ago was a complete idiot and everyone in the room seemed to murmur something to that effect.

_"Well originally it was just to show you how much of a prick I thought you were being. Then it was to tease you with a reason to come back to JAG after you got done being another Flyboy playing Cowboy, that's all it was though, just a tease, granted it did get a little out of control."_ Harm watched the Mac on the video profess and then Sturgis voiced his opinion.

"Bullshit! She wanted you right then and there." Sturgis had obviously been dipping heavy into the bourbon pretty heavy.

"Hey, that's my niece you're talking about, Squid!" Matt O'Hara was slurring slightly as he challenged Sturgis.

"Guys, calm the fuck down, it has a happy ending." Jim protested as he hit 'play' and the video continued.

_"So what, you were trying to tell me that you wanted to ensure that you were the only girl I thought about while I was here? The one I thought about on my lonely nights at sea. The one I fantasized to if I ever decided to 'take matters into my own hands'."_ Harm shook his head, he knew he was about to hear it.

"Rabb, let me get this straight, you can admit to her that you fantasize about her while you masturbate, but you can't bring yourself to tell her that you're in love with her? You draw some weird lines, boy!" Admiral Chegwidden asked.

"I gotta say, Hammer, that pushes the boundaries even for you." Trapper joked as the movie resumed.

_"Harmon Rabb! What are you twelve?_ _Now I think I want you to stay on the cruise, just so I can tell all the girls back at the office that I'm the one you're thinking and fantasizing about."_ The Mac on the video stated and a round of cat calls pulsated through the room.

"Alright, pause the tape for a second. Harm, you've got to be kidding me! You tell the woman that she pops your cork; she tells you that that fact turns her on and you still waited? What the hell for? Did you need runway lights?" Jim inquired and Harm rolled his eyes. He could admit that he was an idiot; couldn't they just get passed it?

_"Alright, so as you can tell, Hammer's ability to deal with Mac was like one colossal brain fart that made him look like an inexperienced teenage boy. Aren't we glad that we have this tape so that future generations of Rabbs will get to see that fact?" _With that, Trapper's voice ended the tape and the lights came back on.

"Alright, take the gag out, let's hear his rebuttal." Admiral Boone pulled the gag out of Harm's mouth. Harm wet his lips before talking. "I don't want to hear any complaining, Commander. Your dad had his bachelor party aboard ship and we were ten times rougher on him then we'd been on you tonight."

"I would like to say that having three two-stars teamed up against me is unfair. But if anyone ever lets me out of this chair, I promise that I will take my frustrations out on Agent Webb and Lieutenant McIntyre." Harm shook his head from side to side. As Harm struggled with the ropes in jest, a knock came at the door.

"Oh goody, the strippers are here." Keeter shouted.

Harm's POV

That's about as far as any of us remember of last night. The remnants of last night were evident this morning though. One stripper woke up in Tiner's lap, the other in Keeter's. I wasn't thrilled that Keeter had taken that little step but a bachelor party is the way your friends say goodbye to their single buddy anyway. Frank, Major General Grant, Colonel O'Hara, Admiral Boone and Admiral Chegwidden all left once the party took that particular turn. The Marines came into get us bright and early this morning. You can't swear off a two-star Marine Major General, who's the Chief of Marine Special Forces so, we all got up and put on our dress uniforms and headed for the meadow outside of Annapolis that Mac had chosen for her dream wedding.

I was pleased to see that my newly flagged Marine General friend had tasked the now disbanded and returned Marines of the 22nd MEU to set up the field for the ceremony. By the time that we had all arrived there at 0930 hours, the Marines had lined up for presentation to the bridal party and flag officers for having set up everything. I had to commend Jim; they were still the best damn team of Marines

I stood at the end of the white carpeted aisle of grass with Sturgis standing as my best man along with Bud and Jim standing as my groomsmen. Mac was walked down the aisle by Colonel O'Hara. He threatened me quickly under his breath about what kind of injury would be inflicted upon me if I ever hurt Mac (I had gotten similar speeches from Admiral Chegwidden and General Grant earlier in the day). Chaplain Turner presided over the ceremony, I just said 'I do' where I was supposed to and I was lucky to remember to get that out, being as all I did was stare at Mac the whole time. She looked gorgeous in her dress, I don't think I will ever forget how she looked that day and in fact, I think that may be my dying thought some sixty or seventy odd years from now.

I slipped the ring on her finger and felt my heart swell in my chest. I loved this woman like no other, and I knew that from this point on, I would face my life with and equal partner and just as I looked on the inside of my wedding band, I found the words that Mac had inscribed: 'Sometimes you can't make it on your own'.

_THE END_

_A/N: Okay, we resolved after 'Reunions' that we couldn't write a real good wedding again because the wedding we wrote in that story was so comedic and perfect that we didn't think we could ever do justice by writing another wedding scene so we gave you this silhouette of one as Harm narrates it. _


End file.
